I still love you
by FireGire96
Summary: Ruby and Yang have been told to be sisters their entire lives. But what happens when a dirty truth is revealed? Will they still be able to look at one another the same or will all they care for fall right before them? (AU, DISCONTINUED?)
1. I still love you

Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. Such a very interesting pair. They have known one another their whole lives as sisters and practically as best friends. No matter what happened to the other, they would always have their backs. They would do anything to protect the other even if it killed them in the end.

And that's been proven over and over in time. As soon as Ruby got accepted to Beacon and became the leader of her sister's team, they have fought for the other's survival against Grimm and mafia. They also became more closer and closer then they have ever been. The bond became stronger and before they knew it, a love started to sprout up within them. And not sisterly love.

A romantic love. A love that is only destined for two people who deeply have affections for the other. One that they both wished for. But one that could never happen. They both knew it was a sin to get with your sibling and they didn't want to commit that sin. It hurt the redhead's heart so that she couldn't love the one she truly cared for. And it also hurt the blonde too. But that didn't matter. At least they were still bonded as sisters and that's all they need to stay together, right?

Wrong.

And this was going to be proven on one bright day at Beacon. Inside Ruby and Yang's dorm laid the blonde on her bed, thinking to herself. She had been thinking a lot about her and Ruby's relationship for quite a while. Or at least for a second until her scroll rang from inside her pocket. She wondered who would call on a Sunday so early? Even though her mind wondered, she decided to just answer the call with a quiet, "Hello?"

"Yang," a deep male voice called out from the other end of the device, giving the blonde a good idea as to who the person was. "It's your dad."

"Oh, what up, pops," she asked as beamed out of her bed with a smile filled of excitement.

"Nothing is up with me. How are you?"

"I'm fine. And so as Ruby! She's not here at the minute, but I can go get her if you want me to!"

"No. I want to talk to you. About her."

"Oh, what about Ruby?" She questioned now with a hint of concern in her voice present. A few seconds of silence passed before Taiyang continued,

"I got some serious news, dear… Qrow came today and he talked to me about the young one. He said that he found some old documents of Ruby's. A. Certificate to be exact. And. I tried to throw those away a long time ago but I knew it would've kicked me in the ass sooner or later. Because. He was really upset that he gave your old man a black eye. Heh... I'm. Kind of scared as to how you'll reaction will be."

"W-What are you talking about, pops?"

The sounds of sniffing and sobs arose from Yang's scroll as Taiyang cried quietly, "I'm sorry, Summer… I'm sorry, Raven... I'm so sorry, Yang."

"Dad, what happened?!"

"… Yang... Ruby is Qrow's and Summer's child," He declared out of nowhere as the blonde's eyes went wide with fear, her heart stopped for a second before continuing to beat and her whole body froze. "Ruby. I-Is not your sister, Yang."

"What are you talking about, dad?"

"Ruby was never your sister, Yang. I took her:."

"What the hell are you saying?!"

"I took her, Yang! I took her so I could fill the void of your mother! So I could raise her just like Summer wanted! I just wanted to do things right, dear! I swear, I never meant to hurt anyone! I just didn't want to lose the last thing I had of Summer! Not again! I'm telling you this because I thought you should know! I'm not asking you to forgive me but please! Understand, dear, that I only wanted the best for us! For her!"

Yang didn't know what else to do at that second. She felt like throwing up right where she stood. But instead, her body fell numb as she let the words sink into her brain like a sponge. She let the words of the redhead melt into her head. She let all of her anger and frustration into words as she took a deep breath and whispered through her speaker to her dad with a dash of venom,

"I will never forgive you for this. I will never forgive you for the pain and guilt you let Ruby go through. She barely knew her mom and now to know that you're not her dad and that Qrow made her?! That makes me fucking sick! And for that, I will never forgive you for it! I'll never forgive for the fake love you gave her. For being a fake ass father to her and me! So for now on, do me a favor and stay the hell out of her and my life!"

With that, the blonde hung up her scroll on Taiyang. The phone call was done, but the rage kept going. Yang wanted to destroy something. To destroy anything. Her bunk, the dorm, Beacon, Vale, all of Remnant for all she cares! Either way, as long as something got the anger released out of her then she will be okay!

Or at least that's what she thought. Until she looked up to find the last person she ever wanted to see right now.

Ruby with a look of shock. Of surprise. Her metal shaded eyes screamed out so many emotions, but her whole face summed up everything. All the blonde could see was that the redhead wasn't scared. Or in fear.

She was broken.

She looked up at her 'sister' and asked softly in a destroyed tone, "Tell me it's not true... Tell me it's not true..." All Yang could do was watch as the small girl chanted to her like a doll as her body fell to her knees at the doorway. "Tell me Taiyang's my dad. Tell me Qrow is my uncle. Tell me your my sister. Tell me he loves me- Tell me you was my sibling these past years!- Tell me we have the same family blood flowing through our veins! Tell me you care for me! Tell me all of this is real!- Tell me everything will be okay!- Tell me you-."

Before she could finish, someone pulled her close into a warm and tight embrace. And that was Yang, who was holding the young one as close as she could while fresh tears developed in the corner of her eyes. Ruby froze from the hug until the blonde blurted in a sob through her ears,

"Taiyang is not your father! Qrow is not your uncle! I'm not your sister!… But Ruby. You gotta know. I never asked for this. I never wanted things to go down like this! I just wanted you to be happy. To enjoy life. With me... But. I guess that will never happen since we aren't siblings! I'm just a fake ass sister trying to live a fake ass life acting like a fake ass role model to my fake little sis!.. Either way, I know one thing that wasn't fake. And that was our love… I always loved you, Ruby. I never ever showed you fake affection. I know this is hard! Trust me it's hard for me. But please know. That I love you and I'll never! Ever! Stop loving you!"

Yang pulled away lightly from Ruby to have wet lilac pupils connect with silver ones before asking, "Do you still love me?"

The redhead just stared at her older 'sister' for a second before she quickly started to cry from the words she was delivered. She soon tugged her head into the blonde's chest and whimpered what Yang has always wanted to hear ever since the fiasco started,

"I still love you, Yang! I'll never stop loving you! I-I love you too much! Please don't leave me like my mom and dad! Please!"

"I promise, Ruby. I'll never leave you..." Yang swore to the redhead softly then pet her head lightly to calm things down. Soon, her whimpers disappeared and were replaced with quiet deep breaths. The room fell into silence as the older girl picked up the younger one to lay down on her bunk.

As soon as they got in there, Yang's arms spread around the young one's small body for protection. She had thought she had fell asleep after that mushy moment between the two until Ruby's eyes connected back with Yang's, causing the two to look at one another. She asked, "Will we always be together, Yang?"

Yang smiled sadly at her 'sister' for a second then pulled her head back softly into her chest so she could kiss it lightly and whisper, "I'm never gonna let you go, Ruby... Never..."

"I love you, Yang…"

"I love you too, Ruby. Always."

With that, the two fell asleep in the bunk quietly, letting the day pass by slowly through their slumber. They both knew things would only get better or worst from here. But as long as they had one another, they could make it through. Because even though they weren't bonded by blood,

 _They would always be bonded by affection._

 **What's more better then a trash ship with angst and a little bit of fluff on the side? I don't know. To be honest, I do ship Enabler but only because I believe in the theory that Ruby is not Taiyang's kiddo. I think even with that, I would still ship them though. Anyway, this was a idea I had and I wondered where it would go. I was thinking of continuing it, but I don't know how to. So if you guys have any suggestions or ideas for this, please tell me. Other then that, I hope you guys liked this story or one shot or whatever it is and until next time, have a good day. :)**


	2. Spreading the word

Yang woke up from her sudden slumber to find herself in her bunk under her soft covers. And that sight alone was enough to make a sigh of annoyance escape from her mouth in seconds. She wanted what had happened to be a complete dream. A joke. A set up. But instead, the events came rushing back into her mind and kicking her hard in the ass. The blonde became upset about that but she decided to shrug it off for now.

She stared at the window of her dorm to find the sky painted black with the moon shining bright above all of Beacon. It's a beautiful sight to her. But not as beautiful as the small redhead next to her. Yang watched as Ruby slept calmly in her bed before she jumped down to the floor to see if everyone else was having it better than them. It's a pain to leave, but she sincerely had no choice, even though they both would go through a hard time right now.

So the blonde walked softly out of the dorm into the lights of the hallways in search for her teammates. As she walked down the hall, she heard the surrounding speakers announce that there'd be only one more day until the Vytal Festival. Just great, the goldilocks thought to herself. Not only was she dealing with the fact she's an only child but she also had to deal with the incoming tournament. It can't get any worse, can it? She hoped it couldn't.

As she walked downstairs and approached the cafeteria, she found the room to be utterly empty. Well, almost empty. Inside, all of Team JNPR sat at one of the long tables with each of the teammates doing their own thing. Jaune read his comics secretly to himself while Pyrrha studied, Nora ate a snack which was a stack of pancakes and Ren read. The image was enough to make Yang breaks a smile, but not for long. Just for a second. Soon, she took it upon herself to pay them a little visit. To cool herself off for a minute.

"Hey," The blonde called out to them, catching all of their attentions.

"Oh, hello, Yang," Pyrrha replied in a sweet tone as her eyes shifted from her notes to the lilac eyes in front of her. "How are you this fine evening?"

"I don't know. To be honest, I could be better but eh..." She took a seat next to the shaggy haired leader. She then slammed her head on the table hard, grunting in frustration. This only caused the whole team to stop their activity and abruptly feel concerned about the blonde.

"What is wrong, Yang," Ren questioned calmly, causing Yang to lifted her head to reveal fresh tears erupting from her eyes.

"Me and Ruby... Are. Are not really sisters."

"What do you mean," Jaune asked.

"I mean, me and Ruby are not related. She... She was taken in by my father for no fucking pair of reason."

"Language," Pyrrha blurted out, earning a small sorry from her friend who again laid her head back on the table. "And wow, Yang. I am so sorry to hear that. I bet you and Ruby are taking this hard, aren't you?"

"Maybe. I mean, I almost destroyed the entire dorm if it wasn't for her to be standing right at the doorway. I wanted to tell her myself that things aren't what they seemed, but. Guys... She was right there. She just. Stood there like a statue. Like. With those words. Her soul taken away... It was. So hard to look at... So. Hard..." She couldn't help but cry a little from the memories coming back. She let tears fall until the red haired girl next to her told her to stop. But that hurt. The waterworks kept going like an endless river.

"It was that hard," Nora jumped in with a mouthful of pancakes.

"Y-Yes," Yang stuttered while Pyrrha patted her back, trying to comfort her. "It was like. Finding out that all the waffles in the world were made of tofu-."

"Oh this is serious," The orange haired interrupted hastily from realizing that the matter became deadly. She wasn't good at helping people with their problems but for life crisis like these, she will anything for her friends. But she thought. How can she be able to help someone with dealing with the fact she was lied to for all her life? This would be difficult, she thought.

"I got it," She beamed out of nowhere with a cocky smile. One that kind of scared the black haired boy next to her. Knowing her, this plan would probably kill them all, he thought. "Pyrrha, Jaune. Do you mind leaving the table to me, Ren and Yang for a while?"

"Uh, sure," Jaune questioned more than answered as he left the table with his partner who told Nora to make sure not to break anything. After the two left, silence filled the cafeteria for a second before the orange haired blurted out, "Ruby's not your sister, right?"

"Yes," Yang relied in an emotionless tone.

"And that hurts you, right?"

"Yes. I mean. Anyone would be hurt to know that the person who has supposedly been your sister for all your life is not even your sister to begin with. That the one you have cared for your entire life was a stranger. It makes me feel as if I failed her in a way. Like... Like now every time Ruby looks at me with those eyes. Those. Beautiful silver eyes. She won't see her sister. Instead, she will see... A huntsmen in training that will haunt her for the rest of her life. A failure..."

"... Me and Nora were best friends since we were three," Ren stated peacefully. "Our parents died not so long ago. And ever since, I've known something. That this world is not promised to us. That titles are never promised to us and people aren't either. But I realized one thing is for sure. That we promised to one another with our souls. We knew we would have a hard time getting here and things would change along with us. But our friendship still grows strong. Even if Nora was to be my sister, the killer of my parents or a complete stranger. It doesn't change that she's still my best friend... And that I will always love her... Like a sister."

Yang took in those words likely. Something about them made her guess for a second. She knew Ruby wasn't her sister and that things would differ greatly from now on between the two. But that didn't mean that her love for her went away or suddenly altered. She still loved the redhead with all of her heart. Or more than that. She understood that that would never change. As long as she lives on this Earth. They weren't siblings. But they were best friends. Teammates... Lovers...

With that, the blonde almost told the two thank you until she found Nora crushing Ren in a bear hug, so she left them to it. As she went back to the dorm, she found her other teammates, Blake and Weiss walking back to the dorm, catching the goldielocks in their sight. They wondered what she was doing out so late, but they didn't even question it. Instead, the black haired girl questioned why she was outside the dorm. Sadly, Yang didn't bother to stop and told them she's tired before walking into the dorm to fall back asleep.

She climbed into her bunk to find Ruby asleep, safe and sound there. She thought as the redhead turned to face her 'sister' and pulled her close into a light embrace. Yang wanted to question why she did so until she heard whimpers come out of nowhere and felt tears gradually drench into her vest. The redhead then stuttered out, "Y-Yang... It hurts so much..."

"Ruby, I know," The blonde responded as she pulled her closer to let her cry harder into her chest. As Ruby did so, Yang shushed her softly to ease the pain, but it only made the redhead cry more to her surprise.

"Why does it hurt so much?"

"I-I don't know. But please. Don't cry... Please..."

"I-... I though you left me like dad... Like-."

"I promised you I would never leave, remember? And I meant that, so please drop it. I'll never ever leave you..."

"Please don't, Yang," The young girl continued to cry as her grip on the older one tightened and her cries became somewhat louder. "Please!... Y-You're the only one I have left..."

That was enough to make the blonde cried immediately. She never realized the redhead had cared so much for her. She thought she's just a friend or a 'sister' who always had her back. But no. She's way more than that. And even though Ruby was or wasn't aware of it, she meant a lot to Yang. She meant the world to her. And that's another reason they still were together. They were best friends.

Or more...

After a few more seconds of soft whimpers, Yang had felt Ruby stop shaking and look up to see her teammate. There was something about her eyes though that was different to the blonde. They asked for something. They sparkled as bright as the stars outside due to the light illuminating from the moon. But even without it, the goldielocks knew she would still have amazing eyes. Because to her, she would always be amazing. And at this exact moment, she was more than amazing. She's perfect. And so at that moment, Yang knew accurately what the redhead wanted. And she wanted it to... She leaned down to the small girl, and she did the same. And before they knew it.

Their lips connected.

The kiss was wet but heartwarming. Even though it seemed so wrong to both of them, it felt so right. It was a passionate kiss filled with many emotions. Confusion. Anger. Love. It was something they never wanted to end. Until Ruby had to break it for air and touched the blonde's face mildly, smiling at her as she rested her head on hers. "I love you, Yang."

Yang smiled before telling her she loved her too and pulled her into another warm kiss. A kiss that soon turned heavy as the blonde's hands went through the redhead's hair and her hands unbuttoned her best friend's vest. As the night continued, the two of them both realized that things will never be the same for them. But as long as they're together,

 _The could overcome anything in their path._


	3. Calm after the storm

The morning after, the two girls decided to tell their teammates about the latest matter. And to be honest, they took it quiet okay. Blake always had a feeling that Ruby wasn't related to Yang in the first place while Weiss thought she was just adopted into the family and just took in the traits of the blonde. The teens thought at this point that it was already obvious and couldn't be the slightest confused or angered about it. It was their opinions and it was meant for them. Besides, that's not what really bugged them.

What really bugged them was what happened last night while the two were gone. Hot kisses and under the shirt action. They didn't go all the way, thank god, but it only made the current matters worse. Ruby thought it was all a huge mistake while Yang acted as if it had never happened while talking to her friends about tactics for the tournament. The redhead at this point just had to question herself and the goldilocks. What were they? If they weren't sisters and they had that heart warming moment last night then what would that make them now? Friends with benefits? No, that dealt with sex. Either way, the young teen wanted to know sooner or later.

 _And what best way to know then when she goes to have a talk with her mother._

It was sunrise and the trees and grass were painted a orange color due to the autumn air and the ball of light above. The Cliffside Atlar was peaceful and quiet with only the silence serving as a comfort to nature. And also as a comfort to both Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long as the two stood in front of a single gravestone bounded into the ground. The gravestone of Summer Rose, Ruby's loving mother. The redhead only came here about once a year to give her mom feedback on what was happening. But this time was different. She brought Yang along for reasons unknown so this time would stand out from others. And so far, it truly had since the blonde had to sneak them to their destination in order to avoid their 'father'. What else could possibly happen? Well that is soon to be found out.

As the blonde used time to look out into the distance of her home and for any signs of Taiyang coming, Ruby asked her quietly, "Yang. Why are you still worried about dad- I mean. Taiyang?"

"Because that bastard might come back and try to take you away from me like fifthteen years ago when he took you away from Summer," She answered with a hint of venom in her words, causing her 'sister' to think twice about what she just said. "And besides, there could also be some Grimm out here too."

"Well, from what I remembered, this place was always crystal clear of Grimm. So can you please stop worrying and come see my mom?"

The blonde took one good long look at the scenery in front of her before walking towards the young one slowly to suddenly attack hug her from behind lightly so they wouldn't fall from the cliff. The redhead was surprised at first until she took in the warmth and let Yang lay her head on her small shoulder, feeling her breaths tickle her neck lightly. The moment of silence was soon broken when the older teen asked, "Say, Rubes. Why did you bring me here to see your mother anyway?"

"Because," Ruby broke out of the embrace to see Yang's face, which had a concerned smile on it and continued, "... Because I just found out we're not related. That I've been lying to my mom about you. I'm gonna start all over now. So instead of introducing you as my sister. I'm going to introduce you as my friend and teammate."

"That's... That's pretty understandable, Ruby," The goldilocks replied while looking at the ground with a crooked smile that was enough to make the redhead concerned. But not for long as her friend employed her to talk to her mom and to not worry since she will be right next to her. It warmed the young one's heart, but ease was still stuck inside her like glue. Either way, Ruby thought she had wasted enough time and finally began to speak to Summer the way she always wanted to.

"Hey, mom," The young girl blurted out through the cold autumn air to the stone below her sadly. "Sorry I haven't come by in a while. Things have been... well, things have been, pretty busy. Um. Yang is here with me right now, if you didn't know."

"What's up- I mean. Hello, Summer..."

"Yeah, she's still... Yang... Uh... Haven't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet! So that's cool. I think being on a team with Yang helps. Keep her in line... That was a joke. She's actually a really great fighter! You can tell she's learned a lot from Dad! Oh, so are Weiss and Blake. Oh! They're my teammates! Together, we form Team RWBY! And yes, before you ask, that does cause a lot of confusion. Anyways, I made a bunch of new friends, and then I met some... let's just say, uh, odd teachers. Oh! We've also stopped some bad guys, too! I guess it's like they say: "like mother, like daughter"!"

Another blow of silence filled the air quickly as Ruby had run out of things to talk about. Or at least, she knew what to talk about but she just thought she wasn't up for it. She knew that she would remember the events and it would destroy her mind yet again. But someone made sure that that wouldn't happen again. Yang. She touched the redhead's shoulder and with only her body language, the young girl knew that she just had to go and spit it out. So she took a long and deep breath before continuing the conversation.

"Mom... I just found out that Yang is not my sister. And that still. Really hurts me... I'm guessing you always knew right? Yeah... I bet it was just too hard for you to tell me since I was too young back then but... Sometimes I wonder to myself ever since that night. Why did Taiyang keep it a secret? Was he planning for me to be his daughter forever or something? W-What if I had never been notified of this? W-What if I kept living under a lie?! W-What if-." Before she continued, the blonde behind her pulled her into a tight embrace of contentment so she wouldn't have to cry in front of her mom. Even though Ruby told herself she wasn't going to cry multiple times under her breath, tears still escaped her eyes.

The tears was enough to pierce through Yang's heart yet again. She really didn't like the fact that the redhead was going through so much pain lately. She didn't like how this huge burden was threatening her life slowly and painfully. It was just another reason waiting to add on her list for what keeps her up at night. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to do something! She had to stop the intense hurting in Ruby's heart.

She had to talk to Summer Rose. It was the only way.

So after the blonde tightened her grip on the small girl, she looked at the gravestone like a statue of honor and spoke up proudly through quiet sobs, "Hello, Summer Rose... You might know me as Yang Xiao Long, Taiyang's daughter. And Ruby's best friend... I'm here on her accord to meet you and get to know you yet again. Ya know. Turn a new leaf," the whines suddenly started to quiet down as Ruby looked up at her friend and at the tombstone next to her trying to find out why the blonde would talk to her mom out of nowhere. But instead of getting a answer, Yang just gently brushed the redhead's hair with her hand and sustained her talk with Summer, making the young girl happy a little.

"I um, been your daughter's best friend ever since we were kids and um... I've always made it my goal to keep her safe from any harm. So far that has been going well. Or at least until the fact that she's not my sibling showed up and kicked me in the a-. I mean butt. Heh heh. Truth be told, I was really ticked off. Until I realized that it doesn't change anything between me and Ruby. It just. Sets up new ground rules and breaks old ones, heh. I mean. I won't lie behind your back but, me and Ruby did kiss last night. But nothing huge pass that," The goldilocks admitted with a small chuckle and a scratch to her head before sustaining the conversation.

"Summer, Ruby is such a amazing girl. She's smart, kind and playful. That's why as I kissed Ruby, I couldn't help but think. I really want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want to make her life special and make her smile everyday, even in the hardest of times. She means the world to me and you... So I decided to take it upon myself and protect her for the rest of my life until the day I die..."

"Yang," The redhead called out quietly to her friend who looked down at her silver wet eyes with kind ones. "Do... Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do, Ruby... I love you," The blonde stated lightly before pulling the young one's chin up to deliver a passionate kiss on her lips. It was long and loving, making both of them feel as if there was nothing else to care for in the world except for one another. Soon, the kiss was broken by Yang as she touched Ruby's cheek gently and smiling.

She expected for the girl to laugh or even kiss back, but instead, she asked, "W-What are we, Yang?"

"It depends. What do you want us to be?..."

"... I want to be your love for the rest of my life..." The two smiled yet again before leaning in for another kiss. This one was quick though because the blonde had to break it to see what time it was on her scroll. And that alone was enough to snap her back into reality.

"It's almost time for the tournament. We gotta go before Weiss bites our heads clean off!"

"Okay, Yang," Ruby chuckled before looking at Summer's gravestone yet again to say goodbye. "Me and Yang are going to head out for the Vytal Festival Tournament. Wish us luck!" With that, the two teens left the tombstone back to the peace of nature as they headed off for their ride home.

But before they did, Ruby told her mom that it was great to talk and before she knew it, her friend, or should she say, girlfriend, picked her up and carried her back to the ship awaiting them. With the visit and the tournament about to start, the girls were going to be in for one heck of a ride.

 _But that didn't matter as long as they got one another.._

 **Total fluff with a simple dash of drama/angst... I. Regret. Nothing! But please don't criticize because I can't take that. Anyway, before you get mad about me publishing two chapters in one day. Please. Get used to that because I have the tendency of working super fast on some of my fanfictions. Also, don't get mad at me for having Weiss and Blake's reactions be so dull because to me, I always thought they would take the news kind of like calm people and not like crazy maniacs. That's just me. Well, um, until the next chapter, have a good day! :)**


	4. First round, First strike

Finally after the girls went back home and fought with their team for their first battle, the vytal festival tournament was ready to commence. saw crowds that were cheering in the stands, visitors from all over the world. In the field of volcanic earth and icy glaciers below, Ruby kept a keen eye on the battlefield as she fired and swung her Crescent Rose at an the enemy. Blake also seemed to be giving everything she got while exchanges blows with Reese Chloris. The blades of her Gambol Shroud were colliding with the hoverboard of her opponent until she flips away, readies herself, and charges in again. Behind her, Weiss was using her tactics as another weapon while she waves her Myrtenaster as the sound of her mystical power is heard, and finally Yang used both strength and reflexes to dodge explosive forces of Arslan Altan's fist before returning fire with her own Ember Celica.

High above the action, two familiar teachers are sitting at a sportscaster's desk, watching the battle just like any other person. The two adults were Port and Oobleck, who were surprisingly the referees of the tournament. They went over the simple rules of the tournament while continuing to watch for any devastating blows delivered to the teens. Some people took the time to understand how things work while many just ignored them and cheered for their favorite teams.

As the battle continued, Reese steers her board through the ice to keep balance against it and Blake. She then twirls herself until the board gets launched at the faunus, but she's able to knock it away, only for her opponent to direct it back at her. The black haired girl blocks it again, but the board rotates back to its wielder just in time to defend Reese as Blake delivers several slashes and kicks. The teal haired deflects each attack and spins her weapon around until she can flips away and rides it again, rushing towards a smirking Blake. She collides with the frozen shadow clone, causing her to uses this opportunity to slice the board in two, only for the halves to become dual katars that in turn fold up into bayonet-bladed revolvers. Reese manages to fire off a few green rounds before her tailbone collides painfully on the cold ground, causing Blake to wince with sympathy.

Meanwhile, Yang lands mere feet away from Arslan, who backs away before being pounded by a flurry of punches and kicks until she delivers her own hits, ending with the two smashing fists and creating a shockwave of force from the impact. The two are both thrown back, but the blonde reaches her and tries delivering more blows before the enemy uses her rope dart to tangle up her goldilocks adversary and land a kick of her own to send Yang skidding on the ground. While she tries to get her balance back on the slippery surface, Arslan rushes forward and knocks her back even further.

Nearby, Nadir tries aiming with his assault rifle at Arslan's opponent before a sudden burst of frosty blue explodes behind him and leaves the whimpering gunner in a block of ice up to his thighs. Who caused it? Ruby Rose, her girlfriend.

"Always got your back," she yelled out to her, earning a small kiss blown to her before the blonde realized that was bad since it probably made some people in the audience confused. It also left the redhead off guard from one of the enemies behind her, Bolin

"But who's got yours," He asked her as he twirled his staff, right before when a black snowflake glyph appears to his left and Weiss kicks him through it into a rock.

"My BFF!"

"No," the heiress replied coldly before she walked away to fight more. Even though she said that, her partner had a feeling she was just hiding her true feelings and just whispered they were to herself.

Meanwhile, Bolin crouches with his weapon as he sees a white glyph appear in front of him. A second later, Weiss dashes by and slashes at him, then leaps up and attempts an aerial attack, which he's able to block. She readies her sword while preparing a glyph behind her, and Ruby uses it to launch herself straight up and come down spinning on the boy, who manages to block the curved blade. The redhead grimaces and blasts herself away to her bff's side, and their opponent rushes at them, rolling away from the shards of ice that rain on him and jumping over the young girl swing as he continues running to her surprise.

Bolin manages to reach an orange crystal deposit and slice off a shard, which he throws to Reese over in the icy half of the stadium. With Dust in hand, she fuses it with her board, turning the aqua lights to a crimson shade. She winks at Blake, then uses the board's heat to free Nadir from his icy snare.

She comes back to faunus and slams her board into her enemy's blade, but propels herself backwards and knocks the black haired girl through a frozen pillar. Reese attempts to use her board to slam her foe into the ground, but when she dodges that, she spins around in a flaming arc that Blake narrowly misses thanks to her shadows. Changing tactics, she launches the pistol part of Gambol Shroud at a nearby glacier and launches herself behind it, as the teal haired girl follows her and sees Blake with her back turned to her under an arch. The predator grins before riding in to deliver a flaming spiral at the shadow clone, only to see the ribbon Blake had is launched to trap her opponent a moment too late. She pulls tightly and causes Reese to slam body-first into the string, only to use a final kick to knock her out of the stage. She crashes into the wall of the stands before landing on the ground, earning a double k.o from losing her aura and getting a ring out. For that, she was laughed at by others for having the most embarrassing defeat so far in the tournament.

Back in the fight, Arslan uses her rope to swing around and avoid Yang right behind her, using shotgun blasts to propel herself forward. Nadir comes into the picture, aiming his rifle at Weiss as she summons another glyph and launches Bolin at him. The two teammates are helpless as the heiress creates a whirlwind from underneath them and slamming the two together until she forms a giant ice fist straight up from the ground to trap the two. It reforms itself into a ball that rolls around the field, and when their leader sees her team in this state, she rolls her eyes, annoyed, before changing direction and sliding into the path of the ball. She readies her stance and drives her hand into the sphere, which cracks under her power and frees her allies. With that, Weiss had them exactly where she wanted them.

"Yang," the white haired girl called out causing the blonde to turn to look just as Weiss creates a large frozen slide-like shape. "NOW!"

Knowing what to do, the goldilocks blasts herself forward and skims over the wall of ice, catching Blake's pistol as her teammate uses Ruby as a launch pad to jump off of towards the remaining members of ABRN. The three only have a second to look horrified as the faunus whips a screaming Yang around to land a devastating punch that sends the trio flying into their elimination. The buzzer sounded and the battle was over. Team RWBY was victorious.

Weiss couldn't help but look around and hear the crowd cheer out loud for them. She just had to ask her team, "We... did it?"

Ruby looked at her secret love for confirmation, to which she smiled and gave the young one a thumbs up. With that, the redhead couldn't help but attack hug her sister to her surprise, causing the crowd to cheer louder as the blonde spun her in place. "We did it," she stated loudly.

"Yes we did, Ruby," Yang replied softly in the young one's ears, causing her to laugh and hold the blonde closer. Everyone just thought it was a act of sisterly love. But they both knew it was a act of passionate love. And maybe. Just maybe, Weiss and Blake had a idea it was that too. And how will they be able to deal with it? That's soon to be found out.

* * *

After the fight, team RWBY walked around the fairgrounds to hang out. As they did, Ruby could hardly help but to continue cheering on about their victory. It was just so much for her that she had no choice but to jump up and cheer yet again, "We did it," before Yang caught her in midair and set her back on the ground gently to find a exhausted expression on her face. "Is anyone else starving?"

"I may have worked up a appetite," Blake stated out loud in a cooing tone only for her stomach to growl out loud much to her embarrassment. The whole team just looked at her shock about what had just happened, all except for Weiss who just shrugged it off and jumped into the conversation sarcastically,

"Gee, if only there was somewhere on campus to get food around here." The heiress then signaled to the concession stands all around them before correcting herself with a "oh wait".

She thought this would make her partner and leader understand where they were, but instead, she just touched the heiress shoulder and told her in a calm tone, "It's okay, Weiss. I forget about the fairgrounds too."

"I was being facetious?" The new word caused Ruby to look up at the other teammates with a confused expression. Blake just threw a look at Yang before she answered to the young one that facetious was another word for sarcastic, making the young girl throw her arms in surprise while yelling if the white haired was hungry, why didn't she say so. With that, the blonde showed her group to a place where they could eat.

As they walked, Ruby was stopped by a female voice calling to her, saying, "Hey. May be hard to eat without these." The female seemed to be holding up the redhead's wallet filled with lien. That alone was enough to make her panic before the guest revealed herself to be a close friend of hers. Emerald Sustrai. Knowing it was her, she took back her wallet politely and cheered, "Thanks, Emerald! Guess I dropped it. Ugh, girl pockets are the worst!"

"What's up, Em," Yang asked while walking towards her 'sister' and throwing a arm around her so she could pull her close.

"Just leaving the stadium after your awesome fight," The mint haired girl replied nicely to the blonde in front of her. "You guys were awesome!" This alone caused Ruby to blush hard and look around in a shy manner. As she did that, the monochrome pair of the team asked their friend how her fight went. The dark skinned thought for a second before answering that it was really well, even though in reality, the fight was brutal.

"That's great," Ruby responded. "Uh, why don't we go get some victory food together."

"Oh gosh, that is so nice of you, but-."

"We accept the offer," A deep female voice answered for Emerald from behind. Who was it they asked? The leader of the thief's team, Cinder. She stood in front of the group of teens with a calm smile as she greeted to them quietly, "Hello, Team RWBY."

"Hi, you must be, um-."

"Cinder. Leader of Emerald's team, Team CMEN," She informed the young redhead with a smile still pasted on her face. "I was coming her to get my teammate until you said that you would love for us eat with you. And so, I nicely approve your request."

"Oh that's great! So where's the rest of your team?"

"Oh hold on. Mercury! Neo!" With the loud call for her 'friends', a silver haired boy appeared quickly on the left side of the woman while a gothic lolita looking girl swayed to the right side of the woman and smirked at team RWBY creepily. It confused the teens until they simply shook off the feeling the girl gave them and walked off to get some grub.

The two teams followed Yang to a hut called 'A Simple Wok' and decided to eat over there. After thinking of what to get, the blonde told the waiter that she would have the regular. Ruby didn't know what it was so she chose to get the same. Weiss kept thinking and Blake just nodded at the man, making him understand what she wanted. All of team CMEN asked for the regular in unison to the other teams surprise. As they waited, the blonde had to ask the team, "So, who did you guys pick for the doubles round?"

"We decided Emerald and Mercury since me and Neo here aren't very good together on the battlefield," The raven haired lady stated then whispered in a joking manner, "But we do good in bed," causing the young girl to hit her shoulder and frown. Even though the hit hurt for a split second, Cinder couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, as leader of this team, I thought hard and long about this decision," Ruby stated proudly until Weiss revealed that they actually put it into a vote, making the redhead try to backtrack quickly. "Yes, so, but I decided that we should put it into a vote."

"We voted for her and Yang since they got a stronger bond, they used to be sisters, and since me and Blake saw them making o-." Weiss was interrupted by the hand of Blake which covered her mouth so that the heiress couldn't continue. Instead, she finished for her, saying that they saw the two making oatmeal cookies together once. To her surprise it worked since both girls got the memory back into their heads. And it wasn't a very good one either.

"Yeah, It's only for the best."

"We're going to kick some a- I mean, butts," Yang told them as she punched her fist together with a face filled with cockiness.

"Ass. Got it," Cinder replied, emotionless. "Just don't think Emerald and Mercury are gonna go easy on you if you guys have to fight."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." With that, the teams' meals came out of nowhere. They all got the regular and were content, even though Weiss was sort of confused about her meal for a while. As for Blake, she was served a huge bowl of fish, enough to make the girl go googly eyes for it. For team CMEN, the leader paid for the meals and so they started to dig in. Weiss took it upon herself to pay for her group as well, only to know that her card has been declined to her surprise. This only made the group of teens afraid of what was going to happen. And that was that they weren't going to eat. Until a ray of hope was able to stop that from happening.

Pyrrha Nikos, who was walking around the fairgrounds with her team, JNPR. "Maybe I could help," She suggested while lifting up her card to them. The sight of her made Ruby raise her arms in delight and cheer while Weiss suggested, "You don't have to, honey."

"But she could!" Blake countered at her friend like she had just seen the devil, which made the red haired teen and her group chuckle for a second before she insisted since it would celebrate them moving on to the next rounds, and as a meal before they were going to fight as well. So the teams ate and soon were all filled up from the noodles. Especially Jaune since he was so close to throwing up. As the owner of the hut grabbed the empty bowls, Ren asked Pyrrha, "Is it okay to eat before a match?"

"Of course! It gives us energy!"

"She's not wrong," Cinder jumped in, but even with her word, the boy wasn't sure.

"If I barf, I'm blaming you," Jaune told his partner with his head laid on the table in exhaustion, only for Nora to tell him to aim his throw up at the enemy. It was a disgusting tactic to the teams, but if he had to, he would do it.

"So, Pyrrha, are you guys ready for the match," The leader of Team CMEN asked in a sluggish tone while she smiled evilly at the red haired girl.

"I hope so. I mean we have been practicing and studying so hard for this moment. I just hope we make it to the last rounds."

"We all know you will," Weiss guaranteed her girlfriend nicely before Nora jumped in out of nowhere,

"You know, she knows, I know. Don't be so nervous! The worst that can happen is we lose, that is just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents, we have no home left to go to, we'll be officially renamed Team Lose-iper!" The orange haired girl's laughter soon turned into sobs as she slams her head on the counter in worry.

"Well, I know SOMEONE who's nervous," Mercury stated, causing his teammates to chuckle for a second before the announcers turned on the intercom to tell Team JNPR to head for the stadium immediately for their battle.

"Well, looks like this is it." With those words from Pyrrha, her and her team decided to go for battle. Before they all left, both CMEN and RWBY wished them all good luck in their own little ways. Weiss gave her love a quick peck on the cheek while the others just waved bye. As for the other team, they all did the same. Except for Cinder, who just told Pyrrha to 'have fun', sending a shiver down the young one's spine. Not long after they left, her and the rest of her team decided to leave as well, leaving only Team RWBY at the hut. As they all sat in silence, Weiss and Blake got up to corner their teammates right where they were standing. What they did was a little off but all they could do was wonder what was going on.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by one devastating question delivered from Blake, "Are you two dating?"

"What?! N-No-."

"Yes," Yang answered over Ruby with a serious tone. This alone made the heiress next to the faunus roll her eyes and sighed that this would've happened eventually. "Why ya ask?"

"Because of that stunt you pulled. Look. Me and Weiss are okay with you guys showing your love to one another. But others aren't because they might think it's incest."

"So?"

"So, no public displays of affection."

"Why? Can't we just tell everyone we're not related?"

"That's up to you, not me. I'm just saying, if you're going to do that and give a good explanation as to why, then hurry up and do so. But if you aren't, then I hope people don't see you with your tongue down your 'sister's throat." With that, the black haired girl left along with Weiss to go see other things around the grounds before the battle. Yang didn't know why, but there was something about what Blake said that had ticked her off. That made a fire just swarm through her body. A fire filled of hate.

Ruby could tell she was upset so she touched the girl's arm lightly and called her name, only for her to be pulled into a hard and sexual kiss out of nowhere. Suddenly, she heard loud gasps from all around her for a split second until Yang broke the kiss and yelled out, "That's right! Me and Ruby are dating and I'm proud about it! If you guys hate it, then go ahead and hate us! But that won't change anything! I'll still keep kissing her no matter what you guys say!

The redhead expected loud boos to be spread everywhere she goes or for the blonde to kiss her again. Anything that could be embarrassing or out of the norm. But instead, she heard something else. She heard girls ooing and boys calling out to them like wolves. She heard adults clapping lightly at the display as well.

She heard cheering. And with that, she already knew the happy results. With a wide smile spread around her face and around Yang's, they both knew the happy fact around them.

 _That they approved..._

 **Again. I. Regret. Nothing! So yeah, Yang is desperate. And why everyone is cheering for this? You will know in the next chapter. So you have just experienced a huge change in this fanfic. Unlike in the show, Ruby and Yang are partners and Cinder made her team eat with Team RWBY and JNPR. Also, yes. I ship Weiss x Pyrrha. Go ahead and get mad, but I don't care~! I love it! XD  
Anyways, this so far was the longest chapter ever in the story and I am proud about that but at the same time not. I don't know, I guess that's how my mindset works. Other then that, I hope you guys liked this chapter and I also hope you guys have a good day! :)**


	5. Uncle (dad) comes to Vale

After the little incident at the fairgrounds, all of Beacon's youth started to talk about how cute and special Yang and Ruby's love was. Many said it was the greatest couple ever made while others whispered behind their back that "It was about damn time". Either way, the conversations around the two lovebirds caused them to question why everyone just adored them like they were god. And the answer they got from Blake was kind of bland but sort of obvious.

"Face it. You guys look nothing like sisters. Everyone can see through you guys. It might be a surprised to know that you guys are not related, but to us, we have been waiting for Enabler to be official."

The fact that everyone knew so and even came up with a ship name for them was enough to make the blonde so upset that she almost punched a citizen out of nowhere until the redhead stopped her by holding her back with all her might. Yes, it was embarrassing that this was happening to them, but Ruby had her way of finding their new found name somewhat a good thing, both in reputation and in affection. So as long as she was okay with it, Yang's okay with it.

So after that little scene, the tournament commenced as Team JNPR fought against Team BRNZ. The battle was pretty good, showing how the team of underdogs and celebrity had became way better in fighting and in tactics. And due to that, they have won a surprising match by having Nora not only channel energy from lighting, but from slamming all of them out of the ring.

As for Team SSSN?... Well, they could've done better but one of the members was so afraid of the water, even though his name was Neptune, and got the team to lose against their opponents. Who were they, you may ask? Team NDGO. Yeah. A group of girls beat up a group of hot boys. People didn't argue about it though. It's what they got for judging a book by it's cover.

After these battles, the tournament was over for the day, which meant it was time to go back to their dorms. Blake and Yang headed back to Beacon with no problem, but for Ruby? She was met with a wall of flesh and powdered in all white clothing. And that wall was actually, a surprised Weiss Schnee looking up at the sky in awe. What caused her to do so? It was a air fleet that was flying right across the blue sea of Vale above them. That ship seemed to be so special that in a flash, the white haired girl dashed off to see who was inside. And of course, Ruby followed only because she was confused as to who or what was so important about this bullshead.

As they ran off the stadium and to Beacon below, the redhead questioned as she tried to keep up with her partner, "Weiss! What's the big deal?!Who is it?! Who is she?!"

A second passed before Weiss stopped dead in her tracks and answered quietly, "Winter." Ruby almost asked who it was again until it hit her head that Winter was actually Weiss' sister. The women who looked almost exactly like the young one's bff but older and wiser. The one that was escorting a bunch of droids out of the bullshead she had exit out of as well. The one that was enough to make the heiress shout as loud as she can for her attention, "Winter," as the woman then turned to the young one and look at her with little to no emotion in her eyes, watching as the two approached her quickly.

When they got face to face with the older Schnee, the younger Schnee greeted first in a happy go lucky manner. "Winter! I'm so happy to see you! Oh..." Before finishing, she took the time to calm herself down for a moment then continued with a bow, "Your presence honors us..."

"Beacon," Winter whispered to herself as if she ignored her sister while looking at the school quietly. "It's been a long time... The air feels. Different."

"I mean it's Fall, so the air is colder," Ruby stated in confusion. Right before her partner hit her on the shoulder so hard that she froze in pain while she took in the conversation again.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Classified."

"How long will be here?"

"Classified."

"Of course."

Silence kicked in for a couple of seconds, leaving a confused Ruby waiting for one of them to continue with their conversation. She was going to say something to start back up the talking until her bff beamed in excitement out of nowhere, "You're going to love it here! I know you travel a lot, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas! Vale, too. The government and school are completely separate! Can you believe it!? I-."

"I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its... bureaucracy. That is not why I came. Nor did I come here to watch my own blood fail so miserably in battle. But it appears that I have no choice in the matter."

"But we won!"

"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory. I counted at least three strikes missed." With just those words from the white haired woman, all of Weiss' joy was replaced with disappointment as her eyes slowly made a connection with the gray colored ground below. But this was soon drifted away when the woman dropped everything she was doing only to ask how she was. To which she replied,

"Oh, splendid! Thank you for asking. I'm actually in the very top ranking of our sparring class! And the rest of my studies are going wonderfully, too! I'm-." Suddenly, her speech was cut off by a huge smack on her head, silencing her so she could have her turn to talk now.

"Silence, you boob," She exploded in irritation. "I don't recall asking about your ranking, I'm asking how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"

"Well, there's Ruby," The young Schnee answered while pointing to her friend next to her. "And there's Blake and Yang and Jaune and my girlfriend, Pyrrha-."

The sound of laughter stopped the white haired girl dead in her tracks. And the laughter was from the one person she didn't expect it to be from. Her sister. She was laughing up a storm as her and Ruby looked up at her with a little bit of fear but also with a little bit of concern. They wanted to call for help after a few minutes of people staring at them, until the laughter finally stopped and Winter had lost almost all of her's younger sis' respect with one question/comment,

"I'm sorry, but. Pyrrha Nikos- THE Pyrrha Nikos! Is dating you?! Oh my gosh, Weiss, it's already bad that your fighting skills are sluggish but this lie of yours is a all time low!"

"I-It's not a lie! I-I'm really dating Pyrrha!"

"We both know Pyrrha would be into tough and confident boys. Not girls. And especially not one like you. I mean. How can she be with someone that can't even protect herself on the battlefield without her teammates around!" Ruby was so close to backing up Weiss, until the heiress sadly let it slide and just walked away with her older sister as they talked about their lives. The redhead felt a burning sensation in her chest and the sudden urge to throw her scythe at the older Schnees head. But instead, she just left to see what everyone else was doing.

As she got done talking to some of her friends that were close to her, she watched a bunch of students approach the front of the school in a excited manner. They all seemed as if something amazing was happening, so Ruby followed right behind them to find one of the last things she ever wanted to see again. Or ever. The sight alone made her filled of happiness inside. Who was this person?

The one and only. Orow Branwen, fighting in all of his glory against Winter Schnee, who proved to be a very challenging opponent for him. As the battle went on, the redhead watched the man fight for his life while also causing a little damage to the surroundings him, just like he always used to. But instead of a knowing smile on the young one's lips, the smile just disappeared. Replaced with a small frown and narrowed eyebrows that was a perfect pair with her sad silver eyes. She just couldn't take anymore of the fight and sit there to watch with Weiss.

So she decided to run into the fight to everyone else's surprise, trying to stop the fight once and for all. She thought it would be a piece of cake since the man was a few inches from her at the second. All she had to do was call out for him, to which she did a few times, but never got a answer. All she got was the sword of a angered Schnee to her face. It was all over by then. Qrow just found out that he had screwed up and Ruby was going to die right this second.

Or was she?...

Before she could feel the blade quickly pierce through her pretty little head, all that she could feel was a brush of the wind hit her face along with the sound of nothing. The redhead was afraid that something bad would happen if she was to open her eyes, but for some odd reason, she just couldn't help herself before they opened up out of nowhere. And what she found was both surprising and sort of convenient. Yang stood right in front of her, holding Winter's sword with her gloved hand, which was now painting it red a little from the sharped end of the blade. It concerned the redhead until the blonde simply threw the woman's weapon back and started in a serious tone,

"How dare you."

"Yang?"

"Not now, babe," Yang interrupted before turning around with her head down to the ground and continued, "Tell me. How? How the fuck can you be fighting this woman. At the front of the school. When you should be doing. Oh. I don't know- Looking for your niece! No. Your daughter! How can you be picking fights right now when you should be explaining to Ruby, your CHILD! Why the hell you kept this fucking secret from her! Huh?!"

The teens around them all whispered among themselves about the situation at hand while Yang stared daggers at her uncle, or whatever she saw him as, with her blood red eyes due to anger running through her body at a rapid pace. The man didn't even joke around with the young girls like he would always do. Instead, he just looked at his niece with new found rage. But he also turned to his daughter, who was now looking at him with mixed emotions, and gave her a look she would never forget. A true look of disappointment. Of failure. Of defeat.

Before the young one could even talk to him for a brief minute, the arrival of General Ironwood took his interest in midair as he turned to the mastermind who inspected the scene around him in disgust. "What in the world happened here," He asked the white haired soldier who was cleaning her clothes from the mess she caused in the battle.

"He started the altercation, sir," Winter stated in anger while pointing to Qrow as if he was somewhat of a alien.

"That's actually not true," Qrow countered back to Ironwood. "She attacked first."

"Is that right?... Qrow. What are you doing here?" The older man asked only to be asked the same question from him. He almost answered politely until the arrival of Ozpin and Glynda caused him to stop dead in his tracks. He expected the man to be upset about the disaster the two huntsmen caused, but instead, he just stood calm, taking a sip of coffee from his cup ever so delicately and yelled out in a normal tone to everyone around him,

"Now, now, everyone. There is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the Colosseum, that I could assure you has better seats... and popcorn."

"Break it up, everyone! We will take care of this mess," The woman agreed with her business partner as she glared at the problem right in front of them. With that, the three adults decided to follow the lady quietly to see what everything was about. As they did, Qrow kept a keen eye on both Yang and Ruby. He could tell the older girl was still upset with his actions and that the young one was all over the place in her mind at the minute. It hurt him to see her like this. In a way, he really wanted to clean up all of this himself and not have her do the cleaning. But, at the minute, all he could do was just connect red eyes with others and whisper to the owner of the blood irises,

"You think this is hard for you? It's hard for me too. So please, Yang. Just. Leave me be..."

After he left, so did the crowd of students who made their way back to the stadium. But not Yang and Ruby. The blonde still stood there where she was and looked at the blood in her hands for a few seconds as she tried to calm down. With her red eyes turned back into lilac ones, the redhead crushed into the blonde lightly and tried hard not to cry. But even though she tried so hard to, some tears found a way out of her eyes slowly. Either way, the older girl didn't care. All she could was pet the young one's head lightly as she whispered that it would all be okay. Usually, Ruby would agree no matter what. But this time, she couldn't help but ask herself as she rested in her love's arms,

'Will everything be okay?'


	6. Bloodlines and Fatherhood

Later on in the day, inside a dorm room, Mercury was being interrogated by his leader, Cinder Fall, while Emerald and Neo were listening quietly on a bed. The grey haired boy was discussing with the raven haired woman that he had saw Qrow Branwen fighting against one of Atlas' soldiers. The whole conversation seemed irrelevant and the woman could believe it, but she needed to know for sure that this was the same person they were warned about. The same person they met a long time ago.

So she asked yet again in a serious tone, "And you're sure?"

With a nod, Mercury answered back, "Bad hair, used a scythe, and smelled like my dad after a long day. It was him."

"What do we do," Emerald jumped in as both her and the multi haired girl next to her sat up to connect eyes with the mastermind. They expected her to keep silent or even glare at them. Anything that could be a silent scold. But instead, she turned to them, causing amber to meet with brown and pink, continuing,

"Nothing. We stay the course. They have no idea who we are, so we have no reason to worry. Besides, the last of the heavy lifting was taken care of thanks to our clever little friend." She cooed while winking at Neo for a second before picking up her scroll and hearing a cold sigh from the young one. As she searched on her scroll, the mute took out her own, typing in something quickly that soon made the woman's eyes beam up in delight. "Speaking of which... it appears we have a new access point."

"Anywhere good?" The mint haired girl asked.

"You could say that. Go to your rooms. I'll prepare everything for tomorrow."

With that, the teens all left to their own dorms, leaving Cinder alone in her room. Well, almost alone. She expected for the coast to be clear, but what she saw when she looked up was Neo, looking at her sadly. The look of sorrow on her small face was enough to make the woman breath silently before signaling her partner to sit next to her. This made the multi haired girl smile only for a brief second as she sat next to her love and set her head lightly on the raven haired girl's shoulder, who was smirking and humming lightly to herself and the young one.

As she continued to use her scroll to hack into the system, she whispered, "I'm sorry today was kind of boring. But just know. I am proud of you for cracking some codes for me."

The response she got from her girlfriend was just a peck on the cheek, causing her to giggle before holding her closer and getting done with her business. "We should sleep. Because tomorrow, the crowd is going to see a good fight," She stated evilly to Neo as the two then got up from where they was, turned off the lights and decided to sleep with one another in their arms. That night seemed to be a quiet and peaceful time period, but the next day would be anything but peaceful...

* * *

The day that followed up started the doubles round of the Vytal Festival Tournament. And man, did it kick things off with a bang. The first contestants to show everyone how the round escalates for others were Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon Academy against Mercury and Emerald of Haven academy. At first, everyone thought the team would be able to win against the two teens as if they were nothing. But instead, they were all surprised to find that they got their butts handed to them in the stadium. Right in front of the audience.

Like losers.

They were so disappointed about the change of events that they stumped right out of the arena and ignored any side comments the citizens of Remnant's kingdom dared to throw at them. From that point, they would've stayed angry through the whole tournament. But thanks to Ruby Rose, they were brought back to their feet again due to her kindness she had shown. That alone. Made Team CFVY remember what they were truly sent to Beacon to fight for. Not to win a tournament. But to protect their friends. The redhead liked that.

If only things could be easier with herself, she thought quietly as she walked back to her dorm to continue her personal soap opera with Yang, her girlfriend. Her love that had hated the change of events so much that honestly, it made the young redhead just wished that she would see a true smile from the blonde again. The one that always seemed to light her up inside. But until then, she just quietly entered her room to find the older girl sitting on her bunk, looking at the ground, only for them to connect with silver ones as if she had just saw a angel.

The two shared a smile before the goldilocks got up to approach her young love, hug her and kiss her on the cheek, asking nicely, "How's Team CFVY?"

"They'll be fine," Ruby reassured. "Besides, they said that they were okay as long as everyone else was too."

"That's good. Wanna play some video games? We can play the T rated ones," Not long after questioning that, the blonde moved her head down to the redhead's neck, causing her to shiver from her hot breath and whisper, "Or are you ready to play the mature games now?" Yang expected for Ruby to get shy at least, but instead, she just playfully pushed the older girl away with a chuckle and responded,

"Mind if we talk instead?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Okay." Yang quickly took Ruby back to her bunk to discuss about whatever was on the young one's mind. Before talking, Ruby thought to herself. Should she be talking to Yang about this certain matter? Or should she just keep it under wraps? Well, if she decided to keep it under wraps, then maybe she would stay mad at Qrow for a long time. And that wouldn't be good since she was her daughter and all. So she decided to tell her. Or more like she decided to stay in her dreamland for a little longer.

"Hey, Rubes," The blonde near her blurted out softly, throwing the redhead back into reality to meet her eyes with lilac ones yet again. "You okay? Thought I lost ya there."

"Oh, um, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," It was it. Now or never. So with a decision finally made, Ruby breathed in a deep breath and laid one hand on her girlfriend's knee lightly as she started, "Yang... Why do you hate Qrow?"

"Ruby... I-... I don't hate Qrow," The older girl answered reassuringly back to her while laying her hand down on hers gently, letting Ruby feel a sudden warmth flow through her body. "I just. Don't like the fact that he's just. Acting as if none of this. Ever happened. I mean, if it was me and I've found out that my niece was my daughter, you bet your ass I'm going to talk to her about it! Not just fight Atlas finest to look like a bad ass and get on their bad side!"

"Yang... Maybe he just needs some time. Don't you ever think. This was out of the blue for him as well?"

"... I guess... I mean, he did say it was hard for him as well. And that he didn't know about any of this..."

"See? Then, you should just give him time."

A brief moment of silence filled the air as the blonde's hand squeezed harder on the redhead's to her surprise. Soon, she sighed then continued, "Ruby. I'll give him time... For you... But until then, he should at least. Say hello to you and see how you're doing... For my sake."

"Hello," A male voiced chimed from the doorway of the dorm, causing both of the girls to turn to it to find the last person they would ever expect to hear the conversation. But at the same time, maybe they did. It was Qrow, laying on the side of the door like a so called bad ass. In Ruby's eyes, she kind of looked like one. But to Yang, she just looked like a normal old geezer. An old geezer that she had to leave to the young redhead next to her.

So with a quick peck on her lips, Yang got up from the bunk away from Ruby, promising that she would come back later and left the room quietly to give them peace. For all she knows, maybe they deserved a second or two without her. For her sake that is. Soon after she had left the room, the black haired man walked slowly towards Ruby as he questioned somewhat nicely to her, "How are you doing?"

"Eh, good I guess," Ruby replied while looking at the floor shyly to avoid eye contact with her 'uncle'. "Could be better."

"I bet since you're now dating the headstrong Yang Xiao Long... You know that's incest since you guys are now cousins and all."

"To be honest, uncle- I mean. Qrow... I've always had feelings for her ever since we came to the school."

"Oh, young Ruby Rose! You have sinned! May the lord have mercy on you!" The old man joked around with Ruby playfully, making her laugh for a brief second. And it also caused Qrow to crack a smile on his face himself. And that look alone made the young girl finally stare deep into the man's pupils. Red connected with silver. And all the redhead could say to herself was that she could see the sadness in his eyes. Somewhat sorrow. But she could also find the happiness in them. A happiness that was only shown right at this moment.

And that alone. Had to be one of young one's many images she would love to see for the rest of her life if she could. But instead of just savoring it, she quickly saved herself from awkwardness by saying, "Um, sorry."

"What? Do I smell like alcohol again?" Qrow questioned as he started to sniff himself lightly.

"No not at all, you're clean."

"More like sober," He corrected her with a smile. The man soon took out a metal flask from his pocket and got ready to take a sip from it. That was until he looked at the redhead for two seconds and just sighed lightly while putting the flask down lightly. He stared down at the ground sadly to make the young girl worried until he finally blurted out, "You know... I started to drink when your mom died that day... It wasn't because of Raven. It was because of her... Don't get me wrong. I nearly wanted to kill myself when she left. But when it came to your mother... Let's just say I broke..."

"I know how you feel... I lost her too."

"Yeah. We all did... Did you go see her this year yet?"

"Yeah, with Yang. We paid our respects before our first round at the tournament."

The red eyed man chuckled before continuing, "I bet. If she was still alive. She would look beautiful... I had a thing for your mom, Ruby. Let's just say our meeting was sort of rocky at first, but soon we got to know one another on a regular bases. We were strangers. Then friends. Then teammates. Then lovers... We always knew we would be together, but man. Who knew we would have a child together? When I heard from Taiyang that you were my kid. For some odd reason... I wasn't surprised. I was just... Angry. Angry that all this time I could've taken you back. I could've gave you a real life, ya know? I could've... I'm just glad you're at least still okay."

"I'm glad you're okay too..."

The two shared a stare with one another for what felt like forever as it felt like they were staring straight into one another's souls. As they did, Qrow couldn't help but see something inside of Ruby. See hope. See her. Just by that, he definitely knew that he was Summer's child. That she was his child... And boy did that make him happy. But it didn't make him stay for long sadly.

Soon he got up and messed with the redhead's hair lightly before walking to the door and on his way to Ozpin. He expected for Ruby to just see him off. But to his surprise, she said goodbye nicely to him, causing him to say one last thing before he officially left for the day,

"Goodbye, Ruby... Man, you look just like her... She would be so proud... I'm proud..."

That night, all of Team RWBY slept peacefully in their bunks. Even Yang finally slept peacefully after finding out that her and their 'uncle' had a heart to heart conversation. But for some odd reason, the young girl couldn't get some sleep at all. And it wasn't because of the talk with Qrow. It was because she felt lonely for some odd reason. She needed to sleep with someone. She needed closure.

She needed Yang.

And since she needed her, she decided to climb straight into the older girl's bunk as she was asleep to snuggle up into her side. Finally, she was comfortable in her touch and soon fell into what felt like a deep slumber as the blonde held her close in her sleep. That day, Ruby knew from Qrow a thing or two. The main facts she knew was that she had what she thought the best dad/uncle ever. Even though he's still in the slumps, she loved him like a uncle. Maybe more like a father. And she also knew that if you love someone so much, protect them. Even if you sacrifice yourself for them. You might be dead,

But that one person will still be safe and sound.

 _And that's what truly mattered..._


	7. Second Strike

The next day, the tournament continued with the doubles round as Penny Polendina and her partner, Ciel Soleil, were called into a fight with the members of Team CRDL, Russel Thrush and Sky Lark. The fight could've went on for a long time if it wasn't for the boys being so weak as usual and quote on quote, 'letting' the girls win. The crowd knew that Penny and Ciel would've won the battle with no sweat, which just caused them to ask more in their heads. Why was Team CRDL in the tournament in the first place? Yet it didn't matter anymore because Penny was moving on to the singles match.

That alone was music to the young redhead's ears as she watched her friend thank her opponent for the fight from the stands with her girlfriend. To be honest, her mind wasn't on what Yang called 'baby mama drama' at the minute. It was just set on how her bff had been chosen to continue forward in the tournament. This was probably the only time she ever saw Penny in the light of day happily other then when she helped out with finding the White Fang. And that made her just so delighted to see a smile on the orange haired girl's face. So delighted that she just had to meet up with her as soon as she left the stadium to the unconscious teens.

When she got to where her robotic friend was, she called out in excitement with her arms spread high in the air, "Penny!"

"Ruby," Her friend replied with the same excitement in her voice before jumping into the young girl's arms, landing them both on the floor. This didn't cause Penny pain, but it did make Ruby groan out in pain, "Why", as her excitement got hit by a dash of reality at how she underestimated her in those few seconds. But before all of the happiness could flee, the orange haired teen helped up the young one to introduce her to a friendly yet quiet new ally. "This is my teammate."

"Ciel Soleil," The dark skinned girl greeted herself with a bow to the redhead. As she did, Ruby couldn't help but check her out from head to toe. And not for sexual had short black hair with navy streaks, blue eyes, and a gold marking consisting of an oval shape surrounded by four smaller circles in the center of her forehead. She also wore a blue beret, a plain gray button-down shirt with an asymmetrical collar, a blue combat skirt, and fingerless elbow-length black gloves with a wristwatch on her left hand. All together, she looked kind of like Weiss' material to the young leader, but she knew if she said that to the Schnee, she would be offended. So she found it best to keep her words to herself and just go with the flow.

"Hi, I'm Ru-."

"Ruby Rose. 15. Hails from Patch. Leader of Team RWBY. Status: Dating Yang Xiao Long," The black haired teen interrupted blankly to the girl before she could even get out anymore words. This sent the young one into a state of confusion, making her dumbfounded about those couple of seconds that just passed her right now. But she was able to shake it out of her system and get back to her friend next to her.

"So... Penny," The young girl beamed, getting the robotic teen's attention quickly. "You two were incredible out there. How do you keep control of all those swords? It's so cool!"

"Penny," Ciel interrupted yet again while checking her watch. "I believe it is best if we move on to our next location."

"Could we have a minute to talk," Penny asked nicely to her partner, as she checked her watch and nodded before giving the two young teens privacy to talk.

"So is she your friend, or-."

"Well, in a way. She's like Blake, but if Blake was ordered to spend time with you." The orange haired girl replied cheerfully.

"Oh, so Weiss."

"Precisely."

"Hey," The young redhead whispered to her friend quietly so she was the only one to hear what she would say next. " Does she know about... y'know... beep boop bop, does not compute?" She asked as she imitated a robot like she was doing a dance in a way.

"Oh no," The orange haired robot answered with a shake of her head. "General Ironwood doesn't really want anyone to know. There was an incident with a magnet, but I was able to play it off." The situation gave Ruby a good idea as to what happened and made both girls laugh softly in unison before Ciel could notice the fun they were having. Soon, the laughter died out as Penny continued the conversation with a sort of serious look. "Ruby, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about... I want to stay at Beacon."

The news she gave to the young girl gave her anything but a good feeling. In fact, the news troubled her a lot as she replied with a worried expression, "Penny, they'll never let you do that."

"I know... But I have a plan."

"It's been precisely one minute, ma'am," Ciel chimed in out of nowhere, showing her watch off to Penny who understood the matter. With this, she decided to leave to her next location with her other friend. But just before she did, she told Ruby she would see her later and waved goodbye. Finally, she had left the scene, leaving a scared yet somewhat gleeful redhead to the tournament. But this was not for long when she heard from Port that the next battle would start in fifteen minutes, sending the young one back into reality.

"Oh my gosh! That's right," Ruby yelled to herself out loud. "It's time for our match!" With that, the young girl dashed to the stadium at normal speed, trying not to use her semblance since she would need it for the fight. When she got to the ring, she saw a figure of gold stand right in front of her, shining brighter then the sun. The sight alone gave her a bubbly feeling as she got closer and closer. Soon enough, her eyes met with her beloved. Yang. The two shared a smile before the redhead hugged the blonde lightly as the older teen asked through the cheers and squeals of awe, "Are you up for this?"

"When I'm with you, I'm up for anything."

"That's what I'm talking about." The goldilocks gave the young one a quick peck on her lips before giggling with her for a few seconds. With that, they used their time wisely to wait and get set for their opponents. As they got ready for the battle, Yang stretched her arms while Ruby stretched her legs next to her calmly. The audience couldn't help but look at them like they were the best couple ever. They just seemed so cute to the public eye that the two teens heard small awes from the crowd because of it. But instead of getting angry about it, the blonde blurted out to her girlfriend, "Well now it's our turn."

"If Weiss was here, I bet she would tell us to be formal since there's a huge crowd watching us," The redhead replied quietly after she got done with her little session, earning a chuckle from her partner in the battle.

"You don't have to do what she says, okay," The goldilocks grabbed her love and hugged her in front of everyone like a small plush. "Just be yourself. Just the way I love you."

"Might want to ease up on the hold there, I nearly broke a bone earlier with Penny."

"Of course you did..."

Before they could continue their little cuddling moment, a rainbow zooms past the two surprised Huntresses-in-training, coming to a stop opposite them, revealing a pig tailed faunus girl with roller blades and a cat tail swishing around her weapon next to a young man wearing a fedora and sunglasses, holding a trumpet in one hand.

"These guys look pretty... Weird," Yang whispered to Ruby, who lightly nodded in agreement before the man called out to them out loud for their attention.

"I bet you girls are all fired up for this match, right," He questioned in a deep tone with a hint of cockiness in his voice to the girls.

"You bet your ass we are!"

"We? Yeah right. The only 'we' around here is you. Let me guess. Your little girlfriend right there is going to just sit back and relax while you do all the work, is that right?"

"No, I will be fighting with her," The redhead corrected quickly as she took out her scythe for battle. "I'm not a coward or a user. I'm her friend."

"Yeah right."

"Hey! Why don't you-."

"Hey! Why don't you?" The cat faunus in front of the girls mocked Yang, interrupting her sentence and confusing her a little from the sudden outburst. "That's what you sound like."

"Uh..."

"Hey, where did you get your hair extensions?"

"This is just my normal hair."

"Ooh, really?"

"Yeah, you got a problem-."

"You should try rollerblading sometime! It's super fun!" The orange haired girl suggested with a spin on her skates, taunting the blonde before her playfully. "It'd probably take you a while, though, since you're so... you know, top-heavy."

"Excuse me!?"

"Here we go," With those words from the young girl and the countdown of Port, the battle finally begins with Flynt raising the instrument to his lips and blowing, issuing forth a sound wave that blows both Ruby and Yang back from the force. The redhead is able to throw her scythe to the ground to stop sliding back, but doesn't see Neon spinning into the attack and using it to push herself forward so she can charge at Yang in a rainbow burst of speed and push her into the city portion.

The boy stops blowing as the young leader of Team RWBY gets ready for an attack, a second passing until the musician starts playing again. This time, she uses her semblance to run through the cone and shoot at the boy, who just sways to dodge them smoothly. Suddenly, however, he stops playing, and the young is forced to move forward, earning a kick that she easily dodges with her weapon luckily. She soon is able to steady herself before hitting a red Dust crystal, making Flynt grin at her motive.

Back in the ruined city, Neon manages to roll ahead of every blast from Ember Celica, skating on the railings and making faces at an irritated Yang. She continues to flip and slide over any terrain in her way, all the while repeating the words never miss a beat to herself.

She eventually comes down to the ground and charges at the goldilocks, becoming a rainbow blue while hitting her multiple times. Yang grits her teeth, unloading the spent shells in her gauntlets, as Neon smirks and cracks her glow sticks, turning them blue. She comes forward again, dashing past her opponent before she even realizes that her right leg is now encased in ice.

Getting quite irate now, Yang slams her foot down and frees her entire leg, but is unable to stop Neon from freezing her left arm now. She sees the teen rollerblading on rails and through archways, gaining distance until she speeds forth and kicks the blonde back into a wall, cracking it behind her.

"You should cool off," The orange haired teen yelled out to her playfully. "Get it? Because you're angry."

Not appreciating the pun one bit, Yang smashes her arm against the wall, once again shattering the ice and the structure itself.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Flynt are facing each other in the burning section, the redhead thinks for a second before getting an idea and throwing her scythe like a boomerang at the boy freely. Flynt looks down and smiles, leaping forward onto his knees and blowing his horn just as a column of flame erupts right in front of him, diverting the fire to melt the girl's weapon, which only makes it slide down in front of him with no scratch seen on it.

Ruby just looks at him before dashing the other way. This leaves Flynt dumbfounded at the action but still focused on winning. Suddenly, the redhead comes back, grabs her scythe and delivers a few blows to the her enemy in a surprising way. Ruby stops soon enough, but nothing prepares her for a second Flynt appearing next to the first, and then another, and another after that, each color-coordinated musician joining their waves of noise together to send her flying back.

The Flynts flip their hats around to the audience, then look up at the scoreboard to see both girls down to half their Aura levels, but still in the game. He steps forward, absorbing each of his duplicates as he prepares to finish this.

The redhead tries to get back up and reach for her weapon, only for Flynt to step on the scythe. She looks up at him before their attention is drawn to their partners.

"Get back here," Yang called out to the orange haired faunus who was spinning around her playfully and lazily.

"I wasn't trying to say that you should go on a diet, I was saying you really need to go on a diet!" She stated to the now angered goldilocks.

"That's it!"

"You're fat."

Flynt looks back at Ruby before deciding to focus his attention on Yang, once more becoming four fighters and ready to blow her away. The redhead looks through the clones and sees her girlfriend completely distracted, as well as a pool of lava bubbling away right in front of him/them. Without pause, The leader of Team RWBY jumps up and with the anger built from her enemies, knocks the original trumpet player with a scream into the magma just as it erupts several feet in the air.

"Ruby," The blonde shouted out to her love who had surrendered to the opponent with her life. The crowd looked in horror along with the rest of Team RWBY as the smoke tries to clear itself. As it does, Yang couldn't help but stare at it for a few seconds while Port announces to everyone,

"It appears we have a double knockout on our hands!"

"In fact, it looks as though Ruby's Aura has been completely depleted! She sacrificed herself to take out Flynt," The words alone made the goldilocks even more saddened and surprised at the events that just occured. But it wasn't enough. "Wait a minute. What's this!?" Out of the ashes, the leader of Team wobbles back up through the smoke to reunite with his partner.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Flynt Coal still remains standing," Port informed the crowd, sharing a shocked expression with everyone else. As for the trumpet player, he approaches Yang with a look of pure anger as Neon skates next to him happily.

"You did it, Flynt! Don't worry about her, she's easy," The faunus stated cheerfully. "But kind of annoying."

Suddenly, the two look at the blonde on the field in confusion as her head was faced down at the ground and her body started to shake. Soon, the teen lifted herself up slowly, not looking at the faces of the ones that caused her beloved to suffer and clutches her fist tightly enough that it could almost bleed if she tightened the grip even more. The sight alone was a little scary for the two, but Port's words were able to hit a nerve in them.

"Ooh, looks like Yang's angry! And you wouldn't like her when she's... upset."

With a scream of rage out to the sky above, combining with the group of lava bursts from the rocks, Yang punches out several shots at the two opponents, who manage to dodge the blasts. Not long after, Flynt commands Neon to go while hiding his sudden fear from the blonde.

He blows again and helps Neon rush forward, and Yang meets her in the waves of sound, using her shots to keep her from being pushed away as she attempts to get a hit on the girl. Failing that, she leaps out of the noise and blasts the ground where the faunus is, then launching herself back to create some space. Her blasts almost gets the leader, who's forced to change the direction of his tune and direct his partner elsewhere, still avoiding the blasts and even rolling on the debris being formed, though with a noticeably more shaky stance than usual. She rolls up on a ramp made from the debris into the geyser biome. The goldilocks lands on the ground away from her and runs right at the trumpet player, rocketing forward even as he uses his Semblance once more to deliver a fourfold attack. Shooting behind her, however, provides the necessary boost to finally get close and clap her hands over the mouth of the trumpet. Less than a second of silence is broken by the musical backfire right in Flynt's face, becoming one person for the final time as he's knocked on his back and the buzzer rings.

"Oh, sour not for Flynt," Oobleck states while the goldilocks looks like she is ready to hunt down her final prey. As she looks around the stadium, Neon tries avoiding the geyser spouts as she repeats her mantra to herself. Sadly, it proves to not be enough when she finally misses a beat on her front wheels catching on a crack in the ground, causing her to lose her balance and to shed a few quick tears. Neon tries to roll up in a ball only to get caught in the blast of a geyser. She's helpless to do anything as Yang smirks, fires off a single shot, and hits her screaming target in an explosion of sparks and smoke, as well as a third buzzing sound.

They have won the battle yet again. And it was all thanks to the sacrifice of Ruby Rose. Before the blonde's anger could get out of control, she quickly remembered her loved one doing such and act for her and calls out her name in fear. After calling out for her, she runs into the fire section of the stadium and finds her girlfriend covered in smoke. The scene alone was enough to make the horror in Yang's more visible before she went to the redhead's side and lifted her up lightly in her arms to see if she was okay.

"Ruby! Are you okay?!"

The young girl gets up a little to cough out some smoke before responding to her love weakly, "D-Did we win?"

The worry on Yang's face is soon replaced with relief before her hand made it to the redhead's face and wiped the ash off her delicate face with her gloved fingers. She then replied in a soft and loving tone, "We won, Rubes... Promise me you won't do that again, okay? You scared me there."

"But I was showing an act of love by giving up my life for you," Ruby coughed a little more, worrying the blonde yet again before continuing, "Don't I get props?"

"You get more then props, Ruby. I'd give you my world if I could right now."

"You're too sweet, Yang," After those words, the two shared a kiss that made everyone cheer for a while before it was broken for the goldilocks to hold her girlfriend close in a warm embrace that she just loved so much. Suddenly, the act of romance was interrupted by a loud 'what' from Neon who was merely surprised at the change of events.

"We lost? We lost? Team FNKI lost? That was... That was... " The orange haired faunus's surprise was soon replaced with excitement in just mere seconds as she went on to say, "Amazing! Oh my gosh, you guys were super crazy awesome! We should definitely party together sometime, right Flynt?"

"That was a gutsy move, Ruby Rose... I dig it," He agreed with a small smirk that made the redhead cheer thank you to the teens before the rest of her team came to their aid. When they finally did, Blake told her teammates good job on the battle along with Weiss. Even though their words were nice, the two girls in love only had one thing on their mind at the moment. Each other. Today, Ruby had shown that she loves Yang more then she thinks. And Yang has known that whoever messes with Ruby, they would need a ambulance if she gets pass her limit because if it wasn't for remembering her, she honestly thinks she could have killed them. But that didn't matter now. As long as Ruby was okay,

 _Yang was okay too..._


	8. Falling

The next day after the doubles match, Team RWBY decided to lay low for a but until the singles start. As they did, each girl did their own thing quietly to themselves. Or at least, what was left of the team at the moment. Blake was reading a book silently and peacefully to herself, Weiss was texting someone on her scroll with a look of anxiety on her face, and Ruby was searching around the room for something that both girls didn't know of at the minute. Nor cared for.

As for Yang, no one knew where she was at the time. All they knew was that after the fight, their leader took a power nap and the blonde grabbed something before leaving them to it. Of course, it didn't concern them, but it made the redhead go a little crazy and paranoid by the way the black haired faunus looked at it. Actually, at this point, she thought both of her teammates were losing their minds.

And that wasn't going to flow with her.

So, the silent girl closed her book gently before looking at the Schnee next to her and asking, "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?! More like what's wrong with Pyrrha," The white haired teen yelled back as she slammed her device on the bunk with a hint of fear in her voice. "She hasn't been replying to any of my texts or answering any of my calls!"

"Don't get all crazy about it. Maybe she's just doing something with her team or her phone died."

"Or maybe she's upset about Winter! Oh no," Weiss let herself flop on her friend's bed with a groan then continued in a whine. "What if she heard what Winter said about me and her together?! Or if Winter told her about my secrets and everything wrong with me?! What if she's even... Avoiding me!"

"Weiss, chill out," Blake responded calmly to her scared lovesick teammate, who now had her head on the blankets to hide the incoming pool of tears she was developing. "You know Pyrrha would never listen to a bunch of rumors and lies about you."

"They are not lies, Blake," The Schnee beamed to the faunus, while looking at her with anger. An anger that couldn't be held for long until her sadness took over her yet again. "They are the truth!" With those words, Weiss started to cry into Blake's shoulder for a little bit until the black haired teen pushed her back in annoyance and reply back in irritation,

"Weiss! Calm down! You know Pyrrha better then I do!... Or at least that's what it felt like before-. But that's not the point! She loves you for you, okay?! She would never judge you like how Nora would judge a book. Or in this case food-. I'm getting off topic! She's loves you and that's final! Now please stop going crazy like Ruby!... Actually," The faunus moved her head to look at her leader who was still probing the area like a police dog and called out to the young one for her attention, "Ruby, what's wrong with you? And please don't tell me Zwei is on the loose again." That sentence alone gave Blake a slight chill down her spine.

"No, it's not that! I lost my hood," Ruby answered back with a tone in her voice that almost sounded like she was on the brink of tears. And again, that wouldn't roll with Blake. So she got up from her bunk and started to look around the room with the redhead and left the white haired teen to think more about her love life. She searched high and low, but was not able to find a single trace of Ruby's trademark.

"I don't see it anywhere."

"Oh no, I can't believe it's gone! It can't be gone," The young girl couldn't help but start to tear up at the hood's absence, causing her friends to feel sad for her lost as well a little. "The hood was from my mom... It-... It was the only thing that I had from her... And now it's gone?..."

"Ruby," A mild female voice chimed from the doorway in a extroverted way, getting the girls caution quickly to the call of their leader.

And what the leader found was enough to make her worries turn into calmness and pleasure. She had found her hood. And the one who brought it back to her was her beloved Yang, bandaged up on her fingers, hands, and arms. Not to mention that she also had a few scratches on her face. But it didn't get in the way of the smile she loved so much.

"Look what I did to your-." The goldilocks speech was cut off and her smile was switched to a worried frown in just seconds at the sight of Ruby having a tear fall down one of her eyes. This action alone was enough to make the blonde surprised and scared about what had happen. And possibly, what she had done. With a dash to her girlfriend's side, she cleaned her face quickly before asking, "What happened, Rubes?! Did something bad happen?!"

"W-What?"

"You're about to cry!"

"That's because she thought she lost her hood," Blake explained blankly to her partner with a frown. "You know, it's bad to worry your girlfriend."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ruby," Yang apologized nicely to Ruby then held up the reason for her and her trademark's absence. "It's just that after the battle, your hood was all messed up and burnt up. So, I decided to fix it up for my girl! Haha. It wasn't easy though. Bet you can already see that."

"Yang," Ruby whispered to her blonde haired love gently while taking her hood back and holding it tightly to her chest. "You didn't have to do that. I could've fixed it myself."

"And let you go through all the trouble? Sorry. Guess I'm too stubborn."

"And that's why I love you." The redhead gave the goldilocks a kiss on the cheek that made her feel like she was in heaven for a split second. With her trademark back, she went to put on her hood. That was until her eyes connected with Yang's lilac ones. And with just a stare, she couldn't help but do something she felt like she should've done a long time ago.

"Yang?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Would you...Um... W-Would you like to put on my hood?" The sentence made the room go into a complete silence as Blake and Weiss watched the scene with wide mouths and eyes in amazement. The blonde did the same with her teammates before she coughed and replied with a hand scratching the back of her head,

"Uh, I don't know how to put it on. And I don't want to ruin your hood again."

"I'll put it on for you if you want." Ruby stated with a pink shade on her cheeks. Yang was honestly shy and excited about putting on the young one's hood. So even though she stayed silent for a while, she couldn't help but nod quickly, making the redhead laugh. Finally, she put it around her love's neck, tied it, and stared at the new look of the blonde. The goldilocks thought she would look bad or too different for the young one.

But she was just too beautiful in her eyes.

With a sweet smile, Ruby blurted out to Yang, "You look like a angel~."

"Now would a angel wear red?" The blonde joked with a deep blush on her cheeks that was the same shade as the hood, maybe darker.

"I don't know, I don't care. You look perfect."

"That means a lot coming from you, Ruby." Yang then kissed Ruby passionately in front of her teammates. Weiss smiled at the moment but Blake just sighed and told the white haired teen.

"See? Yang loves Ruby for herself. Pyrrha loves you the same."

"Yeah right," The Schnee defended herself quickly, "They're different! They've known one another since they were children!"

"Is it always love with you guys?"

"Yes," The other three members of Team RWBY responded in unison, causing them all to laugh at the sudden timing of the word. It even made Blake break out a chuckle and smile at what was going on. Soon, they all couldn't help but share a laugh with one another.

 _Like the friends they were..._

* * *

Later on in the day, the tournament continued on into the singles round where the match would be randomly determined and the battle would start immediately after the opponents have been chosen. In the center of the battlefield's stage stood the following; Yang Xiao Long of Team RWBY, a few new faces, Sun Wukong of Team SSSN, Penny Polendina, Mercury Black, and a troubled Pyrrha Nikos of Team JNPR at the other end of the line.

The presence of the red haired teen made Yang look down at wave at her, only for the teen to not wave back, sending her into a thought of what could probably be wrong. All she knows was from Blake that Weiss has been trying to talk to her all day, but other then that, nothing. But even though it worried the blonde, she had to worry more about what was at hand here.

Who would be chosen.

So without wasting anymore time,the screens above the stadium as the roulette starts spinning, this time for competitors instead of biomes, soon the screens gave a glimpses to the audience revealing the first showdown.

"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black," Port announced, causing the crowd to cheer for the incoming battle that was about to happen. As the crowd cheered, Yang looked up to her friends and waved. As for her girlfriend, she pointed and blew a kiss out to her.

"Break a leg, Yang," The redhead shouted out to the goldilocks chuckling at the reaction.

"Would all the other combatants leave the stadium," Port asked nicely as the other students left. While they did, Yang grabbed Pyrrha's arm lightly and stated to her,

"Weiss' been hitting your cell all day. So you might want to call her or something."

"I'll see what I can do," The prodigy replied with a fake smile that the goldilocks could see right through. She really wanted to see what was wrong with her, but it was too late. She left the stadium and Mercury was ready to settle things.

"You better not go easy on me," She blurted out to her opponent, smiling.

Both brawlers face the crowds one last time, then slowly start advancing on each other, arms raised defensively until their hands can almost touch"You wish," He replied with a smirk that made the teen know that there was no playing around now. . And before they knew it, the battle had started.

Immediately, Yang throws a punch, and Mercury spins his foot to meet it, creating a shockwave between the weapons that launches him back. He closes the distance quickly and aims at her feet with his boot, but she leaps over it and fires off a shot of her Ember Celica that he rotates to avoid. They fight fist-to-fist for a moment, The blonde getting in a fiery blast on her opponent at the cost of him also landing a blow on her. She falls back on her feet when the gray haired boy shoots himself into the air to get farther away from her, looking up and smiling.

Yang doesn't relent for a second, launching shot after shot only for Mercury to dodge each of them, sliding around the stage on clouds of air until he attempts to come down on her with his leg. She blocks and pushes away the attack, but he goes under her shotgun burst and manages to land a kick on her, though she still lands in a crouch, now grimacing. She launches forward with a double blast and continues landing blow after blazing blow on him, right up to when he roundhouse kicks her in the back and attempts to hit her with his heel. She gets out just in time and punches he ground trying to get him, but he leaps out and twirls to get a hit on her. One of his kicks seems to pass over her, but then he brings it down hard enough to shatter the steel underneath, which the goldilocks narrowly rolls backward to avoid.

They exchange kicks after this attack until Mercury hits her backwards, and he rushes forward only to receive a fist to his chin, then his torso, knocking him on his stomach. He gets up right as Yang starts raining down fire again, causing him to somersault back until one explosion causes him to get knocked off of the stage. He saves himself by firing his boots downward and flying back in front of his enemy, unleashing a series of kicks that she deflects with her arms. She ducks under one attack only to receive another as the boy jumps into the air to knock her back, and he follows it up with a shot from his boots. The other teen avoids it effortlessly, not noticing it still hanging around behind her.

Switching tactics, Mercury starts shooting his foot out in every direction, each kick into the air accompanied by a silvery blast that are barely even aimed at Yang. She dodges each one coming her way and gets in close through the circling barrage of shots, fighting with their fists again until the gray haired teen kicks her into the air and knocks her right back to the ground, followed by the dozens of swirling shots that now converge right on to the blonde haired teen.

When the blasts stop coming down on his opponent, Mercury gets up from his crouch and grins to himself, dusting off his outfit and seeming as happy as can be until the smoke from behind him erupts into flames. His momentary shock turns into another smile as he turns around to see the red-eyed Yang slam her knuckles together and come at him. Screaming, she lands a punch that sends him back, and she rushes up avoiding each kick and even taking one with no effect to pound at him with an unrelenting bombardment of left-right blows. He has enough time to let out a pained groan before she hits him in the stomach, his Aura sparkling up to try and defend him from the last hit to the face by the upset blonde. He lands on his back as the buzzer sounds over the roars of the audience.

"What a way to kick off the finals," Port states through the excitement around him.

"Yang Xiao Long wins," Oobleck announces, causing the crowd to cheer louder. Yang looks up to her team to see Blake and Weiss clapping for her.

"Way to go, Yang," The black haired faunus above shouted out to her partner. But the comment didn't phase her or even got her attention. What did was the fact that Ruby was clapping as well, but she could see that the redhead was sort of... Saddened and angered by something a little bit. But maybe the anger drifted away quickly because the smile on her face became bigger when she yelled,

"Yeah! You did it, Yang!"

With that, the blonde left with a "Better luck next time" to her fallen opponent. She thought it was all over...

That was until Mercury gets back on his feet and replies with a hint of venom, "There won't be a next time,

Blondie."

With that, a sharp sound is heard in the sudden silence as Yang turns around just in time to see Mercury leap forward with a kick to his unsuspecting victim. The goldilocks scowls as she just manages to both bring her gauntlet down on and shoot his leg before he hits her. The second she does so, there is a sound of something breaking. The audience gasps in shock, and the male reels back from the pain.

"My leg! My leg," He cried out loud while holding his injured leg.

"That's what you get you little-." Before she could finish,she is stopped by Atlesian Knight-200 droids and two Soldiers that circled the Huntress-in-training and raising their guns to her.

"Yang Xiao Long, stand down," The droids commanded the dumbfounded teen while Emerlad comes to the sceen and helps out Mercury.

"Why'd she do that," He asked innocently to his partner. "Why'd she attack me?!"

Yang then receives a disgusted scowl from Emerald, only to look up at the screens above her to see the footage of what just transpired: The blonde circling the crouched-down the gray haired boy until the footage cuts to him just standing there and her suddenly shooting him in the leg. The sound of something breaking rings out, and the boy screams and falls over in pain.

It takes a moment of staring at the images until Yang finally understands what she did, and her gaze turns up to the wide-eyed, terrified faces of Blake, Weiss. And even Ruby. She honestly did not know what's going on and could just wish all this was a dream. But if it wasn't, she knew one thing for sure.

 _Nothing would ever be the same..._


	9. What scares me

Because of what had happen on the battlefield, Yang and the rest of Team RWBY were taken back to their dorms as quickly as possible. As they walked back to their room with the soldiers, the blonde couldn't help but look down at the ground, not daring to look at anyone, not even her girlfriend. Speaking of girlfriend, Ruby was just like Blake and Weiss at the moment. Shocked and out of words to say.

Right now, all she could do was stay quiet. At least until things calmed down. No. Even before that. The redhead was honestly surprised about the change of events, but she was not manly startled by that. It was something else that made her blood boil at the minute. Something that she had been seeing inside her love ever since the beginning of the tournament. And the more she just kept seeing it, the more she became afraid. She would talk to Yang about it, she promised herself she would later.

But now was not the time. Now was the time for Ironwood's words.

Finally, after a few comments from the general, the girls had found themselves in and locked inside the room while two Atlesian Nights guarded the teens and the general protected from any trespassers or trouble. As they settled inside the dorm, the conversation between Ironwood and Yang commenced.

"I'm sorry," The man started quietly. "But you leave me no choice."

"But he attacked me," The goldilocks argued back angrily with rage shown all over her face. Rage that was very noticeable to her teammates that had watched before trying to jump into the matter.

"Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise."

"But Yang would never do that," Weiss replied to the man, defending her friend while doing so. With that, the blonde expected the redhead to say something to prove she wasn't the bad guy here. But to her surprise, Ruby didn't say any. She stayed silent as Ironwood continued,

"You all seem like good students, and the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did... under normal circumstances. What I believe and hope this to be is nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there. Even after the fight is past..."

"But I wasn't-."

"That's ENOUGH," The general interrupted Yang out loud, causing the room to fall into silence and for the teens to shut their mouths in seconds. "The sad truth is, whether it was an accident or an assault, it doesn't matter. The world saw you attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions. And it's my job to inform you that... you are disqualified."

With that facts slapped at their faces, General Ironwood finally left them to their dorm as he walked out of the dorm and left with the nights, leaving the teens back to the silence that had taken up the space in the room. But not for long since after a few seconds, Yang opened her mouth yet again with a innocent, "You guys believe me, right?!"

"Of course I believe you, Yang," Ruby replied calmly as she laid her hand on her loves to ease her up a bit. But even with the comfort, she could easily tell that something was up.

"You're hotheaded, but not ruthless," Weiss agreed without hesitation. "What about you, Blake?"

The black haired faunus stayed wordless to her teammates for a while until she finally looked up at her partner with a blank expression and answered honestly, "I want to believe you."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Even with the white haired teen questioning the words coming from the black haired faunus's mouth, it wasn't enough to express the sadness that was coming from the culprit of all this. Yang knew it would hurt if at least one of her friends actually thought she did it for personal gain, but she never thought the fact that it would come from her partner. That alone made her sad. No. Angered. And because of that, she couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me?"

"How can you say something like that?! Yang would never lie to us," Weiss added

The faunus took a nice glance at the white haired teen before sighing and stating to her best friend, "I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual - little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right" She pauses for a minute before continuing, "This is all just... very familiar. But you're not him. And you've never done anything like this before. So... I want to trust you. I will trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that he attacked you. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did."

"I saw him attack me," Yang replied as she stared deep into golden shaded eyes with what started to look like deep red ones. "So I attacked back. Deal with it. Or not. I don't care anymore.

Her answer was, of course, a hardheaded one, but it was enough to make Blake come to a conclusion to what she was saying and sighing with concern for what could escalate quickly, "Okay. I think you deserve some alone time after all this. I'm going to go get a cup of tea." The black haired teen got up to walk towards the door. But before she left, she turned to her teammates and asked quietly, "You guys want to tag along with me?"

"I would love to," Weiss replied nicely and started to head to the door herself. "But. I think I'm going to hang out with Pyrrha for a while if you don't mind. But afterwards, I'll make sure to meet up with you later."

"Okay... What about you, Ruby?"

"I think I'm going to keep Yang company," The redhead responded with a dash of sadness in her tone of voice that once again caught her love's attention. "You guys just go and do what you feel free to. Don't worry about us."

"Okay, see you guys later." With that, the dorm was left to the two teens. Since it was, Yang used her time to just lay in Blake's bunk and looked up at the ceiling carelessly. As for Ruby, she approached her girlfriend and then decided to sit next to her and throw a weak smile before asking, "I believe you. But I gotta know something. Did he. Say anything about one of us? About me? Before he tried to attack you?"

"Not everything is about you, Ruby," The goldilocks answered with a spat of venom that made it feel like the young girl's heart was just stepped on out of nowhere. And soon, the teen was able to catch herself from what she had said. "Wait, that's not what I meant-."

"No, it's okay."

"It's not," The older teen replied while sitting up to meet with silver eyes. "The words just slipped out and I'm so sorry, Ruby. It's just... God! I am so angry right now! I can't think straight!"

"Yang, it's okay! I shouldn't have asked like that, okay," The redhead repeated to her girlfriend calmly with a small smile before looking down at the ground. Suddenly, she felt hands touch her shoulders gently and her body being pulled towards Yang's lightly in a weightless hug.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I want you to know that," She whispered in the young one's ears. "... As for your question, he didn't say anything through the whole battle. I promise... If you don't mind me asking." The blonde pulled the young girl away to question her, "Why did you ask me that?... Actually, are you okay? You've seem a bit off since the battle. Did I startle you?"

"No, of course you didn't... But..." The redhead looked back down at the ground below then answered hesitantly to her loved one. "It was. Something you did that made me kind of... Scared."

"Did I hurt you-."

"No, Yang! You didn't hurt me in anyway... It's just... Your... It's your anger, Yang."

"... What?" The goldilocks placed her hand on Ruby's for a second, as her touch gave her a small dash of comfort, but her face showed that she was starting to be concern about what she was possibly doing. "W-What do you mean my anger?"

"You just... Use anger to win all of your fights, Yang-."

"No I don't."

"Yes... Yes. You do... Yang, do you remember when we fought Roman? You used your anger to your advantage. At first, I was okay with this and let it slide since it made us win kind of in the end. Then it happened again with the fight against Flynt and Neon. I wasn't conscious, but I learned from Blake that you was really mad when I sacrificed myself for our win. That's. When I started to think about the matter. But then. The fight with Mercury... That's what made me finally realize the sad and deadly truth... That you use your anger like a weapon..."

"... W-Well, that's nothing to really get all crazy about, now is it? I mean. We all kind of use anger in battle, right? So, it's nothing to get worried about."

"No, you don't understand," Ruby replied louder then before the conversation started, making Yang jump a little in her boots. "Yang, this isn't about me thinking you purposely hurt Mercury, okay? This is about the fact that I think you are using your anger in battle a little too much... And the fact... That I am scared that one day. Just one day. You might use your anger in battle and seriously hurt someone instead of a Grimm. Or even..."

"Now you know I would never kill anyone-."

"I know!... B-But still," The redhead started to tear up at the matter and before she knew it, she was pulled back into a hug from Yang, who started to pet her head softly and hold her tightly to her body. Even though she tried to hold it, Ruby's waterworks found it's way to flow down her cheeks and catch themselves on the blonde's vest. "I-I'm just scared, okay?! I don't want things to end up that way! I don't want you to go through something bad like that, okay?!"

"Ruby... I would never hurt someone unless they were doing wrong. And even if I did, I wouldn't even think about spilling blood on my hands. You know that," The older teen tried to calm down her loved one with every word she said, but the more she did, the more she felt like if she was going to cry herself. So, all she could really do was assure her love that everything will be fine and her fears would never come true. "I promise I would never let my anger take control of me, okay? I would never want to make you afraid of me-. That would be the worse thing ever for me. So it won't happen,okay?I promise... I love you, Ruby..."

"I love you too, Yang..."

* * *

Meanwhile with Weiss, she was outside of Beacon, looking for her beloved Pyrrha and trying to know why she's been 'avoiding' her. As she did, she couldn't help but remember what Blake had told her about Yang and Ruby's love. And how she was so right but she replied like a dolt. Man, did she hate calling herself that.

What the faunus told Weiss was that the red haired teen was probably doing something with her friends and not really ignoring her. Yet, knowing how stubborn she can be, she didn't agree with that. Back when it happened, that is. But now? She wanted to believe it.

To be honest, she even wanted to go back to Blake and tell her thanks for telling her such a thing, but sadly she couldn't. Not right now of course. She had to find Pyrrha and see what was up.

And luckily for her, after searching around the area for a little while, she was able to find the prodigy in all of her. Sad glory? The red haired teen was sitting on the floor in the sunset shine while looking at the leaves above her from the autumn trees peacefully. All together, Weiss thought the scene just showed off more as to why she loved her so much. And she just couldn't help but just jump into action so they could finally have a conversation in what felt like a long time.

So, after thinking of what to say, the Schnee approached the prodigy, causing her to smile warmly at the sight of her before the white haired teen asked, "Why you all alone," before sitting down beside her girlfriend.

"I just wanted to relax after everything that has happened." The red haired teen replied quietly.

"I can agree with that..."

"I bet you wanted to know why I didn't call or text back?"

"Nope," The white haired girl responded to the other teen's surprise and continued to smile at her with her answer. "Just wanted to hang out with you and watch the sunset together."

"How sweet..." With that, the two teens stayed quiet as they looked up at the sky above. The different shades of red that painted the sea above them was astonishing to look at for both of them as the leaves that fell from the tress acted like a rain almost. All together, it looked stunning, but not as stunning as the other.

The silence around them was soon broken by Weiss, who asked nicely to her love, "You know, when I first met you, I actually used you for power... All I thought of you was Pyrrha Nikos, one of Remnant's most talented students. Nothing more... I wanted you to be on my group and become one of my partners in battle. I never thought I would love you... But who knew... That as the days passed. I would be jealous of Jaune Arc..."

"Now that's not-." Before Pyrrha could reply to that, she was silenced by the sudden touch of Weiss' hand on hers as the white haired teen continued,

"It is... I never thought I would be jealous of the one that kept crushing on me being the apple in your eye. At first, I thought it was just because of popularity. But thanks to Yang and Ruby, they showed me that it wasn't jealousy... It was love.. And that's true, I really do love you, Pyrrha. No matter what." The white haired teen then pulled her girlfriend close for her head to relax on her shoulder. The young teen's touch was enough to make her warm up inside for a few seconds and feel the nice kiss delivered on her head. The moment just felt so right for her. For them...

But it felt too right.

The prodigy almost sunk into the feeling until she lifted her head and stared into Weiss' sea blue eyes and responded, "Weiss?"

"What's wrong, Pyrrha?"

"I don't know what to do..."

"What do you mean?"

"... Do you believe in destiny," The question sent the white haired teen into a train of thought for a minute while the red haired teen waited patiently for an answer.

"To be honest. It depends. Why do you ask?"

"When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life."

"I agree, yes."

"Well... what would you do if something came along that you... never expected? Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?"

"Like what, Pyrrha?"

"Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?" Pyrrha continued, now with stress being sensed in her tone of voice, making her girlfriend a little concerned about what was going on as she tries to comfort her through what was happening.

"Pyrrha, you are not making any sense right now."

Before she could even lay a finger on her, the prodigy stood up and yelled back to her love, "None of it makes sense! This isn't how things were supposed to happen!"

The white haired teen stood to her feet to reply with worry,, "I'm sorry! I'm just trying to understand what's wrong, Pyrrha!"

"I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress - to protect the world... And it's become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were right. But... I don't know if I can do it."

"Of course you can. I know you can do it," Weiss supported the idea cheerfully. "And if you need any help, you know me. And everyone else. Will be there to support you..." The Schnee thought her words would be helpful. But when she saw Pyrrha start to sob, she felt as if her whole world was about to shatter in just a few seconds. She had to choose her words carefully, she thought. Or this would end everything in a horrible way.

"Stop..."

"What? Is it something I said?"

"Stop!" With a shout from the red haired teen, Weiss whole body froze as if it was cast into a spell. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she couldn't help but just watch her girlfriend cry and whisper to her through tears, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." The impact of her words left pain in the Schnee's heart. But what she didn't know was that the prodigy was in pain as well. She wanted to reply, to hug her and say everything would be okay. But with that, Pyrrha left the scene quickly,

 _leaving a broken Weiss behind..._

 **Okay, so I know what you all are thinking... What about the talk with Yang and Qrow? What about Pyrrha's semblance? First of all, can I say I regret nothing. Second of all, Yang and Qrow will talk, but not today. And third, Weiss doesn't have much metal on her, so Pyrrha's semblance would be useless on her. Now, before you guys ask why did I do a chapter late at night? I'm just having too much fun with this fanfic at the moment. So please get ready to see some chapters this weekend. Seriously, get ready. Also, I promised myself I wouldn't do Frozen Rose this weekend, taking a break off it. So yeah. And because I didn't do a month's supply of this fanfic, I just want to go crazy for you guys. So, until the next chapter, have a good day! :)**


	10. Start of the chain reaction

After talking with her girlfriend, Ruby found it best that she would leave Yang alone for a while until after tonight's next battle. She was still afraid of the thought of the blonde going crazy with her anger but she took it upon herself to shake the feeling off of her for a while and try to relax at the second. So what was a better way to do so then take a peaceful walk around the campus. And bump into Beacon's kindest and innocent bunny faunus,

Velvet Scarlatina.

The young leader of Team RWBY had found the second year student taking pictures of students, in particular, Sun Wukong and other students that were beside him. The redhead's worries sort of disappeared at the sight of the faunus taking pictures of other students of the different kingdoms. In a way, it was so nice to see people smiling at the minute. And that's why, because of a curve to the lips, Ruby approached Velvet calmly, getting her attention and making her greet in an accent while stopping her session of picture taking,

"Ruby how are you doing ?"

"Hi, Velvet," The young one greeted back nicely to her friend. "What're you up to?"

" Oh, you know. Just working on my photography. Do you wanna see?" The young one nodded to answer the question then took a look at one of the pictures the brown haired teen took. She could tell the picture was of Sun, but it didn't consist of his head nor feet. Just his chest and weapons. Which sort of rubbed off her in a wrong way.

"That's... Better," She replied her opinion with a crooked smile that Velvet sort of couldn't see through, which was a good thing. But a thought in the faunus' head made her smile disappear as she asked Ruby in concern,

"I'm sorry about your sister-. I mean. Girlfriend... Is she doing okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine, heh. Thanks," Ruby answered while also looking away in a unease way.

" I think it's just awful what people are saying about her," Velvet continued, "Yang's such a nice person."

"Well, I'm glad someone thinks so."

"Most people don't know what it's like on the battlefield. I mean, even experienced fighters can get scared and start seeing things. If it happened to Coco, it can happen to anyone." The mention of her leader made Ruby's head beam up in confusion along with the statement.

"Coco?"

"Yeah. She swore she saw Yatsu with her in the forest during the fight with Emerald and Mercury, but he never even made it out of the geyser fields. Stress-induced hallucinations, apparently."

"Yeah," This made the redhead go into thought for a moment. The faunus had just said that her friend had seen something kind of like how Yang said so about Mercury. Now things were starting to add up a little bit. And not for the best. Was it really true that Yang just saw something out of place? Or was there more then meets the eye. She did not know right now. But when the next fight starts,

 _answers will be given._

* * *

Later on in the day, the next singles match was about to begin. So because of this, everyone headed back to the Colosseum to wait for the next opponents to be announced. As people settled down, Ruby descended down the steps to an open seat and even though she had been through a lot today, she smiles widely while looking around at the assembled crowds with excitement.

That was until her stupefied eyes see a familiar, glaring face on the other side of the arena.

Emerald Sustrai.

After questioning why she was here to herself, Ruby had finally knew that something was wrong. And so did the green haired teen from across her, who as if sensed she was being watched, leaned forward to glare at the redhead. The leader of Team RWBY suddenly got up with a worried expression and ran towards the exit tunnel. Checking to see if no one's around, she entered a door labeled with a yellow maintenance sign and finds herself inside of the Colosseum. She walks forward with determination of finding out what was going on as she heard the announcers through the walls around her.

"All right, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight," Oobleck announced outside, words not phasing the young one at all since she continued to walk through the empty halls. Or what used to be empty until another familiar face walks out of the door aside her to send waves of chills down her spine.

Mercury, completely fine and still in Vale.

"Mercury," She asked while squinting her eyes to know if it wasn't him. Sadly, it was. The boy kept silent as Port continued to announce the two fighters of tonight.

"It looks like our first contender is... Penny Polendina from Atlas... And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!" The names caught her attention and made her go into thought yet again. Until the horrible truth clouded her mind as her eyes connected with the fraud's and she whispered to herself, "No..."

"Ooh, polarity versus metal. That could be bad," The gray haired boy stated cockily to the young girl, who was now irritated and tried to take out her Crescent Rose. Only to know that she didn't bring it with her. This only makes the boy's smirk wider as he just looks at her evilly.

As for outside of the Colosseum, everyone was cheering for one of the teens in the stadium at the minute. Especially all of Team JNPR that cheered for their teammate to win. They all had a feeling that she would do her best, win the match, and everything would be okay.

But it wasn't okay. Especially for Pyrrha, who stayed quiet and concealed her sadness with a blank face. As she did, the orange haired teen in front of her put her hands on her hips and greeted, "Sal-u-tations, Pyrrha Nikos! It's an honor to finally meet you!" The red haired teen kept her mouth shut still, just staring at her opponent. "This is going to be so much fun." Penny beams widely in anticipation, but Pyrrha still looks around as if in a daze, though she manages a small scowl at her opponent with her weapons, Miló and Akoúo̱, already in hand.

With the two in place, Port finally begins the countdown of the battle out loud, "3. 2. 1. BEGIN!" Starting off the fight of the night.

Along with the secret one as well.

After hearing the words outside stop, Mercury stared at Ruby with a smirk one last time before blurting out in the empty hallway that belonged to them, "Showtime."

He then goes forward and blocks the redhead's path with his arms outstretched, trying to restrain her movements no matter where she tries to go. Panicked, she grimaces and spins forward, becoming a blur of red and petals rocketing toward Mercury, only for the fraud to kick her mid-dash with his boots and knock her to the ground in a brutal way. He advances on her just as she gets our her Scroll, about to push the button to call for help when suddenly a bullet from the gray haired boy's boot shatters the device into several shards.

"Let's keep this between us friends," He told her in a sinister way, only making it more apparent that he would a problem for the young girl.

Meanwhile, outside on the stadium, the battle commenced as Penny becomes surrounded by her floating swords and gestures them around to her command before launching a volley of them at Pyrrha, who runs towards them and leaps through or deflects each aimed blade. The swords fly into the air until they are turned around and come back to the fight.

The prodigy takes her weapons and twirls the javelin to block each sword swipe of her opponent's, dropping her weapon when she needs to somersault away after being hit by a slash, only to magnetically return it to her hand as the orange haired teen readies another wave of blades.

Fully glowering, Pyrrha rushes forward and jumps on an incoming sword and swings down on Penny, only to have the assault halted by a collection of blades. Though she leaps away from the retaliatory slice as the other teen backs away as well. She tries to defend against the multitude of swords with the length of her weapon, but is forced back regardless, prompting the red haired teen to roll the shield from her back onto her arm with her polarity.

Despite the cheers she was given from her teammates, Pyrrha wasn't doing well, looking down to see her Semblance's black energy bend the weapons in her hands unnaturally for a split second due to the fear that ran through her veins like a nearly erupted volcano. Of course, she shook it off and stayed normal before jumping back into action.

Back inside of the Colosseum, Ruby continued to try and escape the pickle that she was in right now. As she tries, she attempts to block a kick from Mercury with her arms only to get a face-full of his boot. She manages to duck under his next attack and leap over his leg, spiraling past him, this time getting much father down the corridor. She kicks off of the wall and falls to the ground, excelling into a run to stop the incoming disaster.

As the redhead pursues to stop the fight, things still continued to take place. As the fight remain, Pyrrha spins wildly and deflects and dodges each sword, until she gets close enough to Penny to deliver a few slashes with her spear, sending the orange haired girl flying back as the prodigy bats aside the blades called to their wielder's aid. Penny slides to a stop and makes a new series of motions with her weapons folding up until she's circled by several laser rifles to which a few open fire on the approaching champion. The red haired teen avoids the blasts and fights off the remaining swords with her xiphos until she slides into position to charge at her enemy and knock her back. She then straightens with a victorious grin that disappears into dizziness, just as she sees the orange haired teen rocketing forward with her weapons firing behind her like a jetpack so she can leap into the air, then come down as an energized meteor on her opponent.

After rolling back to her feet, Pyrrha didn't expect a sword to knock her shield off, then another to do the same for her blade. She tries to get the later back with her magnetism, but has to use the power to send a flying sword back at Penny's side. It does so, but the wielder of the sword only grinned for a second before raising her arms as several more swords appear above her, aimed to strike.

The red haired teen gets ready to counter at the attack that was soon to be sent at her, only to see an unusual scene take play. Penny's eight swords doubling, then tripling, multiplying into an unreal thicket of blades. At the sight of this, Pyrrha unsteadily steps back from her opponent in horror. At that moment, she thought it was it. But was also confused as to why no one had stop the fight yet. But it didn't matter now.

Penny send her swords forward at Pyrrha, who has been left with no choice but to spread her arms and send out a magnetized shockwave.

She had no choice but to use her semblance.

Because of this, each blade is sent reeling back to Penny, who is also unintentionally affected by the Semblance attack. The prodigy only has a brief moment to understand what's happening before Penny's arms are spread wide as she gasps. The strings attached to her own weapons were curled around her left arm and midsection, to which are crumpled by the force with the ease of an aluminum can.

This caused the wire to slice through the electronics in Penny's torso. This caused the swords to fall into place from no wielder.

This caused Penny Polendina to be cut in half and lifeless. And a horrified Pyrrha to look with her eyes wide and mouth agape.

She had killed Penny.

As everyone in the crowd and the announcers watched in fear at the change of events, Ruby finally jumps into the scene. Only to be revealed to the fact that the orange haired girl. Her best friend. Was lying on the stadium ground in half. The image alone was enough to make the young one freeze in place as she fell to her knees in a deep and scary silence.

"Broadcast, what are you doing," Oobleck asked dumbfounded and upset at what was happening. "Kill the feed!"

"We're trying," The Broadcast Op replied to the green haired man out loud. "But something's wrong! We don't have control of the cameras! We can't even stop the broadcast!"

"What?! How is that possible?!"

Before he could be given an answer by the other men, the background them on the screen suddenly changed to a video feed that was tinted an ominous bright red with a black queen chess piece hovering over the scene. They turn back to the arena as a familiar voice rang throughout the Colosseum as the rest of the world and them watched these events unfold.

"This is not a tragedy," A female voice blurted out through the speakers around the audience. "This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference." With those words, Pyrrha continued to look at Penny, now understanding what she was as she started to cry more about what she had done.

"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... equally undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you: When the first shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?"

With the unknown female's voice suddenly gone, everyone started to panic at what was going on at a sudden and sickening sight incoming. A screen with the words CAUTION on it. With that, a computerized voice came on to the speaker stating to the citizens of Remnant,

"Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."

With the announcement, the crowd did anything but that and ran out of the Colosseum, screaming and roaming wildly out of the place. As they did, a Nevermore came to the Colosseum and started to pound on the shield that kept everyone safe inside it. Of course, the students of the tournament took it upon themselves to fight back. But would it work? They would just have to find out. And would Ruby fight back even after a lost of a friend. Didn't look like it. She would need a hero. Or to get back into reality. Sadly,

 _Her hero was nowhere to be found at the moment..._


	11. Third Strike

After hearing the announcement given to all of Remnant and the commotion that had been happening in Vale, Yang didn't hesitate to run straight out of the dorm in search for her girlfriend who was still in the Colosseum.

As she ran down the hallways, she couldn't help but think that Ruby was in trouble or maybe even hurt at least. Not only that, but she thought maybe the rest of her teammates were in serious trouble as well. For all she knew, they were probably getting beaten up by Grimm or were crowd by a lot of them. The thought made the blonde shiver in her shoes. That was until her scroll started to receive a call that she quickly answered without thinking about it. "Hello," She answered out loud.

"Yang, are you okay," The voice at the end of the line questioned quickly while making the goldilocks realize that it was her partner who was calling her. That alone made her sigh in relief before replying,

"I'm fine. Is Ruby with you?!"

"No she isn't." Those words caused the teen to stop in her tracks and think again of sick and twisted thoughts as to where the redhead would be. But before those thoughts could corrupt her mind, her partner continued, "Yang, I'm sure she's fine. She's our leader. She can take care of herself-."

"I'm going to find her. You stay with Weiss, okay?"

"But-."

"I'll see you soon." With that, Yang hung up her scroll and continued to run down the halls to outside. While she did so, she started to try and call Ruby's scroll, only for it to go straight to voicemail. This only worried the blonde more and made her run faster down through the school until she finally went outside to find a scene that was enough to make her look in horror.

Vale. Nearly in flames as many citizens ran away from roaming Grimm summoned by White Fang members that dared to attack the innocent people in front of her. The cries of others, roars of the monsters that roamed the town, and the sounds of guns popping effortlessly almost made the goldilocks angered as to who did this. Who caused this pain to everyone. It almost got to her until she remembered what her beloved told her about her anger. So instead of pursuing the threats with rage, she decided to take a deep breathe and go help the ones in need. Besides,

 _It's what Ruby would want after all._

* * *

Back in the Colosseum, the Nevermore above the students still tried to penetrate the area with it's beak and claws. The students still tried to think of a way to survive the attack from the huge bird like Grimm. All except for a shocked Pyrrha. And a still frozen Ruby who was still saddened by her friend's death.

To be honest, she wanted to move. But it felt like if she was out of strength to move. As if she was out of hope in a way. Out of hope for everything around her. Even herself.

In her silent state, Pyrrha stayed in the middle of the stadium like a zombie as the Grimm above continued to try and go after her by breaking more and more into the shield that dared to protect her. But that would not be enough to protect her from the monster. And that's why her teammates tried so hard to call her so she could snap out of it.

Especially Jaune.

"PYRRHA! Pyrrha, that thing's going to break in! You've gotta move," The shaggy blonde yelled out to his partner, only for the shield to stop being penetrated by the Nevermore that flew up into the sky, getting ready to dive into it one last time. So, wasting no time, the leader of Team JNPR jumped in to pursuit the red haired teen and get her to safety. As he ran, he called out again, "Pyrrha, please snap out of it! Weiss wouldn't want this to happen!"

But before she could move, the Nevermore completely broke through the holographic barrier, and the force of it landing on the arena floor knocked back Jaune, Pyrrha, and the pieces of Penny. The monster screeches and lunges towards Pyrrha, only to be knocked back by a red, twirling blur of roses, with the cause of the blur gripping one of Penny's swords and stabbing into the Grimm before jumping back down in front of the prodigy. Who was this shade of red that saved her?

None other then Ruby.

"Ruby," The red haired teen questioned the presence of her savior, who was too angered to answer back to her. Instead, the redhead stared at the Nevermore for a minute before she shouted at it with anger,

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

With that, the Grimm rose up and circled around the arena before lunging back down. Ruby holds Penny's sword defensively, getting ready to fight back. But suddenly, the Nevermore gets pinned down by a barrage of rocket lockers, and screeches out in pain before going unconscious. The lockers then open up, revealing the weapons of various students, including Crocea Mors, StormFlower, Magnhild, and Yatsuhashi Daichi's large sword. The respective owners of the weapons pulled out their weapons his locker and get ready to fight the beast. The students are then suddenly shakened when the Nevermore starts to get back up. Ren leaps up into the air and uses the blades of his weapons to slash at the Grimm. Arslan uses her rope dart to swing down and grab Yatsuhashi from the ground while Sage also leaps up into the air and Nora runs up to her enemy's head and hit it with Magnhild in its hammer form. When Arslan reaches peak height, she lets go of Yatsuhashi, who is then joined by Sage, as the two broadsword wielders slash down and decapitate the Nevermore, causing it to dissipate into black particles. As Arslan lands back on the ground next to her teammates, Ruby looks over to the teary-eyed Pyrrha.

"Ruby, I-," The prodigy began while holding on to a piece of clothing of the one who had died today before spilling tears and telling her through them, "I'm so sorry."

"Me too," The redhead replied softly before her expression hardens from the thought of the one who caused this. "But it wasn't your fault."

"She's right," Pyrrha's partner agreed as he approached his partner with her weapons in hand. "Whoever was on that microphone... they're the ones that did this. And we have to make sure they don't take anyone else."

Pyrrha stood up to takes her weapons back from Jaune so the two of them could exchange determined expressions. They then look over to Ruby, who smiles at the impressive ensemble of students. Sadly, their moment is cut short when they notice hippogriff-like Grimm land on top of the colosseum and fly towards the group of students.

"Griffons," Ren blurted out their real names quietly, catching the students' attention.

"Anyone got a plan," Neptune asked in a determined yet scared tone.

"Sun," Ruby called out to her monkey faunus friend. "I need your scroll!"

The boy then used his tail to flick his scroll to the young leader who catches and uses it to summon her locker, which opens up revealing her precious Crescent Rose inside. However, Ruby is stopped when a Griffon lands on her locker and roars at her before being scared away at the sound of a gunshot.

A gun shot that was delivered by the weapon of Professor Port, who was accompanied by Oobleck as well.

"Students! I think it would be best for you to leave," Port stated to them.

"But we did a-."

"Miss Rose," Professor Oobleck interrupted loudly. "This day will surely go down in Remnant's history. I'd prefer it if my students could live to tell about it. You would understand, now would you?"

"The others," The redhead whispered to herself as a answer to the question she was given. This was before her eyes went wide to the thought of someone special to her living to tell as well. "Yang..." With that, the young red haired girl dashed through the professors and aimed straight for the exit. But before she did, she told everyone to follow her, causing them to get out of the stadium and go help the others while trying to find their teammates.

After exiting the arena, they found General Ironwood standing in front of two dead Grimm. A sight that kind of took them by surprise at the moment until Ruby asked out loud to the man, "What's going on?!"

"Grimm are crawling all over the city," The general informed the students in front of him strictly. "The White Fang's invaded Beacon, and to make matters worse, some... vagabond has seized one of my ships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So I'm..." Before finishing, Ironwood took a second to shoot a Creep, killing it, then continued, "... Going to take it back."

"What should we do," Jaune asked with a hint of worry.

"You have two choices. Defend your Kingdom and your school... or save yourselves. No one will fault you if you leave." With that, the General entered a ship and started to leave the scene. That was until he heard the students talk among themselves and try to sum things up.

"I mean... Come on," Sun blurted out to his friends and the others around them. "It's the better way."

"We're going to help Beacon and Vale," Ruby answered to the monkey faunus, making him surprised by her answer and choice of words.

"Ruby, do you see what's going on?! People are dying! The Grimm are making Vale their new playground! If we stay here, we'll die-."

"And if we leave, others will take our place," She countered. "Tell me, Sun... What's worst? Watching the ones you love die right in front of you?... Or protecting them while dying trying to do so. My mom said it never hurts to try... So what's so different about right now? We got to try. We got to save some lives. I'm going to find the others. If anyone wants to join, feel welcome to."

With that, the redhead approached the ship and left the students to be. Or at least that's what she thought at first until all of them followed her path she had chosen. Even Sun. The scene alone was enough to make Ironwood smile at the bravery of the young girl and before she left, he called out to her, "Ruby," getting her attention one last time.

"... Your mom would be proud of you. And so would Qrow..."

"Yeah... I think they would," Ruby replied with a small smile. And with those words, the two split up from one another in pursuit to go and save everyone from the chaos. As she walked, all the young girl could do was hope. Hope that she would survive tonight.

 _And that Yang and her teammates were okay..._

* * *

Back at the school, Blake and Weiss fought their way through Grimm, White Fang, and surprisingly, hacked Nights that tried to take them both was shown that they had it easy as the Schnee took down a few knights using a combination of Myrtenaster's strikes as well as her using her Glyph Semblance while the faunus with her fought off a group of White Fang soldiers before using her Semblance to dodge a dual sword-wielding soldier. She got overwhelmed by more White Fang members, but they are all suddenly knocked back by her partner at the moment. Afterwards, Weiss and Blake stand back-to-back in a defensive way, ready for anything else. But they soon notice a group of human Atlas Soldiers fighting off an Atlesian Paladin, which has also been affected by the virus and turned rogue. The Paladin easily beats down the soldiers in a brutal way, making the girls go to help.

But before the two could assist the soldiers, they noticed a Bullhead about to crash land. An armored Beowolf is seen jumping out of it before it could crash with the aircraft. The monster landed on the ground and started to chase after fleeing civilians, causing the teammates of Team RWBY to exchange one last look with each other before the white haired teen blurted out to the faunus,

"Good luck."

"Don't worry about me," She replied blankly. "You just keep yourself safe and find everyone else."

"I'm already on it." With that, the two parted ways with Blake running back to the school and leaving Weiss alone to think of negative thoughts as to what happened to everyone else. Luckily for her, the sick questions were answered quickly as a group of students started to approach her quickly to help out. It was nice, but the face of her love was enough to make her smile and when the two got into range, she hugged her for a split second before kissing her cheek. "I'm glad you could make it! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Weiss," The prodigy responded with a smile. "Don't worry... Are you hurt?"

"Just a scratch here and there. But that's not the issue right now."

"Right," The two quickly ended their sweet conversation to see what was coming for them. An army of Grimm. With their enemies spotted, the students stood tall with their weapons and got ready to fight off against the incoming threats. But before they could go forward, Pyrrha noticed Ozpin stood the entrance of the tower, while Team SSSN runs off to fight off their enemies. The prodigy then walks towards her headmaster without saying a word to her teammates or anyone else much to their confusion. She thought they wouldn't notice or follow. But of course, Weiss followed behind her love, making the professor ask, "Miss Schnee, what are you doing?"

"I'm following you guys, professor."

"I'm sorry, but I need Pyrrha alone. Don't worry, I won't do anything bad to her."

"I'm sorry, professor," The white haired teen replied to the man as she held her love's hand tightly for comfort, making the red haired teen smile a little at the touch. "But it feels like you guys might need my help. Please let me follow..."

"... Fine. Let us get going." With his approval, the two teens followed him, hand in hand to their destination. As they ran with him, Pyrrha just couldn't help but feel like Weiss being with her was good. But at the same time bad. Luckily for her, she is able to keep her sane.

"After all this," The white haired teen blurted out to her love. "How about we get some ice cream for our victory, huh?"

"That..." The red haired teen smiled widely at her love for the idea and answered.

 _"That would be nice, Weiss..."_

* * *

Meanwhile on Beacon's grounds, Yang still ran down the school in search for her loved one. As she tried to find Ruby, a bunch of soldiers, White Fang members, and Grimm dared to get in her way. Of course, she kept her anger in control. But she was irritated with the things that stepped in her path.

So due to this, she went into her opponents, ready to take them down.

The blonde jumped into action by punching everything effortlessly with gritted teeth. Whether it was Grimm skulls, Night's skulls, or White Fang bones. She crushed all the things that met her fist. And because of that, she didn't break a sweat, but was able to get to everyone else sooner then she thought after what felt like hours of fighting.

When she got to them, she wasn't able to find her teammates in the crowd, so this made her question where they were by asking Velvet, who was tired, nicely, "Velvet, have you seen any of the gang around?"

"I-I haven't seen Ruby," The brown haired faunus responded through gasps of air. "As for Blake, she went to find you. And Weiss followed Pyrrha to the CCT Tower with Professor Ozpin."

"Alright then, I'm going to find Ruby and Blake if you don't mind."

"N-Not at all! Go ahead!"

"Thank you, Velvet. Good luck," With that, the blonde left her and her friends to themselves and continued to search for her teammates. As she ran down school's grounds, she could hear the screams of others and cries for help. That alone made her feel more upset with what was happening at the minute. She wanted to just stop and go and break the ones that caused this. To beat them to a pulp. To...

But she promised Ruby. She would keep her anger in control.

Meanwhile, in Beacon's Vault, Weiss, Pyrrha and Ozpin were sprinting from the elevator they came out of to the corridor. As they approached it, the Schnne that tagged along couldn't help but ask her love, "What is this place?"

"It's a type of vault," Pyrrha answered back with a saddened tone while her hold on the white haired teen's hand tightened.

"What would the school need to hide?"

Finally, the three come into range of a machine with a woman with brown hair inside one of the pods with her eyes closed. The Schnee had a feeling that she was either asleep. Or dead. Either way, it wasn't a good look at all.

"What-. Who's this?"

"Weiss-."

"Pyrrha," Ozpin called out loud. "Get into the pod!" The red haired teen looks at her girlfriend for a second before doing what the professor said and leaving Weiss still dumbfounded by what was happening. "Miss Schnee, please stand guard."

"O-Of course, Professor Ozpin." With those orders, the white haired teen turned to the entrance to make sure everything would be okay. But as she did, she just couldn't help but feel as if something was off. So as she protected them, she overheard their conversation as good as she could to know what was going on.

"What do we do now," Pyrrha asked in a quiet tone.

"We. Do nothing," Ozpin answered in a stressful manner. "You, Miss Nikos... Has a choice to make..." Those words sort of shook the white haired teen, but she still continued to watch out for any threats. And before answering to Ozpin, the prodigy whispered to her girlfriend.

"Weiss. Whatever you do. Don't worry about me, okay? Everything will be just fine. Just watch out for threats okay... I'll be okay..."

The Schnee nodded at her words as she heard a pod open and close before the man behind her asked, "Are you ready?... I... I need to hear you say it."

"Yes," The prodigy responded to the professor through the pod sadly.

"Thank you, Miss Nikos." With that, the sounds of a machine running fills Weiss ears for a while before another sound overlaps it and makes the white haired teen's blood boil in anger.

The screams of Pyrrha.

She wanted to see what was going on and even get her out of it and escape all of this. But she took her girlfriend's words lightly and stayed looking down the dark hallway in front of her. As she did, she squinted her eyes in sadness and tightened her grip on her weapon, only for Ozpin to whisper to her quietly words that she wanted to say to her girlfriend.

"I'm... So sorry..."

Back with Yang, she ran around Beacon to find her first friend and partner. Blake. While running, she called out to the space around her while beating up any White Fang member that dared to cross her path. After beating up one more member and ending up in front of the school's cafeteria, she called out one more time, "Blake! Where are you?!"

Suddenly, an arrow passed through the Schnee and hits the glass of the woman's pod behind her, striking her in the chest, making the machine begin beeping an alarm. Ozpin and Weiss look down the hall to find the cause of this.

Cinder Fall, standing halfway down the corridor from them, an obsidian bow in her hand. She lowers her bow as a tiny smirk creeps across her face. And a frown spreads on her so called friend's face.

Meanwhile with Yang, she was soon answered by a shriek of pain that catches her attention in no time. Her eyes then meet with the cause of it. A man with red hair and dressed in black and red clothing, wearing a mask similar to a White Fang member, stabbing Blake's side. The sight alone was enough to make her troubled and yell out to the enemy, "Leave her alone!"

But even with her command, the man just stood there next to a black haired faunus that held her hand out to her partner in pain. Giving her a feeling that she needed her help. So that's exactly what she was going to get.

But until that happened, back with Weiss, she watched her so called friend meet eye to eye with her as she asked in anger, "So it was you?! You caused this, Cinder?! Why?! Why would you do it?!"

"For power, of course," Cinder responded with a smirk. "And besides. It's nothing personal, right, 'friend'?"With those words, the raven haired woman saw as the orange flow from the lifeless woman went straight to her. Weiss didn't know why, but she knew that the source was special in a way. And that it was probably what Pyrrha and Ozpin needed. So it couldn't be given to the woman at all. So, without hesitation, she jumped in front of Cinder quickly to her surprise.

And caught the energy with her body, causing the seeker of the power to shout out in disbelief. The white haired teen screamed at the power that suddenly entered her body that started to cause her intense pain throughout her veins.

Finally, Pyrrha saw what had happen and called out her love to see if she was okay, but she was given no answer. She then used her Semblance to rip her pod's door off its hinges, throwing it at the enemy, who knocks it away like it's nothing. As Cinder grits her teeth and begins to descend to the floor, the prodigy leaps out of the pod and charges, calling her weapon and shield to her with her Semblance. However, Ozpin puts his arm out, stopping her.

"Take Weiss and get out of here! Find Glynda! Ironwood! Qrow! Bring them here right away! The tower cannot fall!" He commanded.

"But-."

"Pyrrha, Weiss holds the maiden's powers now! She cannot be taken by Cinder! You must get her to safety or she will die! Hurry!" The red haired teen hesitates for a moment but obeys her professor's orders and scoops up her hurting girlfriend, promising that everything is alright as she watches her try to maintain the new power and run away from the threat. Cinder tries to stop them from leaving, only for Ozpin to stop her with his cane and get her attention. As the prodigy ran, she knew that tonight would not end well. And that alone made her want to cry yet again.

Back with Yang and Blake, the blonde watched as the man sheathes his sword while smiling. That alone made her scream as her eyes turn red and a burst of flame erupts from her. She had broken her promise. And was angry yet again. And the cost of this was a leap at her enemy, drawing her fist back with tears in her eyes. The man swiftly draws his sword and swings it through the air at the teen as his Semblance activates. At that point, the blonde thought she would get hit and die from the impact or at least get hurt in a bad way. But that wasn't the case.

Instead, what she heard was a loud no from the side of her before feeling someone pull her back from her side to dodge the attack. Suddenly, all she heard was a slash and a saw drops of blood at the corner of her eye. Everything was in tack. Her limbs were still connected and she was still breathing normally. So, a question ran through her mind. Who's blood did she see?

It was the blood of Ruby Rose. The one who saved her girlfriend.

For the cost of her leg.

The two flew through the air and Yang couldn't help but watch as her love smiled one last time at her before beginning to lose consciousness and with that, the blonde finally screamed out to the sky from the event that just occurred in anger, sadness and horror as loud as she could,

 _"RUBY!"_

 **Okay, so before everyone comes at me with anger about what had happen, let me defend myself. I have been thinking of this outcome ever since after Valentine's day for this fanfic. Even before I even made it. And I always to do this for the fanfic. Keyword: Fanfic. Since it is one, I felt that this would be the route for I Still Love You. If you didn't like it, I'm sorry. But I thought it was pretty good. All together, I hope you guys liked it and don't go too crazy about it with anger please. Until the next chapter, have a good day! :)**


	12. Worth Protecting

_(As she settled down in the ship, Ruby couldn't help but think of her teammates and as to where they would be at the moment. The same also went to her girlfriend and if she was probably a running She-Hulk smashing Grimm down brutally. But the one thing she really couldn't out of her mind to her surprise._

 _Was Qrow._

 _She thought to herself about what he was up to in the battlefield. Knowing him, he was probably fighting with no sweat. He was a pro huntsmen in her eyes after all. So she shouldn't worry about the man. But she just found it hard to do so when anyone could die tonight. Even him._

 _And thought alone made her feel at unease as insecurity s tarted to take over. But luckily for her, something got in the way before that emotion could be expressed. And it wasn't a good thing either. The force was a loud boom accompanied by a explosion in the air. What was the cause of the explosion? An airship._

 _The same airship Ironwood was piloting._

 _The image made the students look in horror, even the young girl as well. She had a horrible feeling that he was gone after that. But it couldn't be true, she thought. It just couldn't. He was okay, right? Right?..._

 _Even if he was, she had to take down the ship that nearly made his life almost taken away or disappear before her eyes. So she decided to run to the bay of the flying bus and jump off it while using her Semblance of speed to safely land on the runway after free falling in the sky. As she ran to the stadium, she found a locker, her ticket getting to the enemy. She punched in the code, latched on it with her Crescent Rose, and immediately took off to the skies, landing on top of the stolen airship that made Ironwood fall._

 _The redhead looked around her surroundings to find Griffons roaming the sky around her. One soon landed on the airship in pursuit of the young one, but she easily cut it down with her weapon before getting hit, causing the beast to disintegrate into black particles. But not long after, she heared a snap catch her attention and turned to see female with Neapolitan ice cream theme hair and eyes in Atlesian military officer clothing._

 _But not for long as woman's clothes changed with a wave of light washing over her to a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants, and gray boots with very high heels. Under the figure's jacket was a black corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. She also wore a multitude of necklaces, which hung haphazardly around her neck. After changing she winks after taking a picture of Ruby and send it before sharing a glance with the young one. Ruby didn't know who she was, but she had a good feeling that she was an enemy._

 _So without hesitation, Ruby performed a low swing only for the woman to somersault over it and ducking the next swing, she then performed another backflip to dodge the third. The redhead then twirled Crescent Rose before she attempted another low sweep her opponent to backflip away from her consecutive twirls. Once the young girl finished spinning her weapon, she lodged her weapon on the hull and fires a shot. But this was useless to the woman, who shatter in an illusion, revealing a familiar red haired male to Ruby as the man fired a shot back with his weapon, a cane named Melodic Cudgel, sending the girl flying several feet before she lodged her weapon to safely grip herself from the surrounding gales. Who was the man?_

 _None other then Roman Torchwick._

 _"Little Red, Little Red," He blurted out through the chaos around them as he approached his rival. "You are just determined to be the hero of Vale, aren't cha?"_

 _"What are you doing," The redhead asked out loud. "Without these ships, the Grimm will destroy everything!"_

 _"That's the plan!" With that, Ruby swatted aside Melodic Cudgel just as Roman attempted to fire it at her, causing him to move a few feet off-balance before his partner returns and leaped over her enemy and kicking her left cheek while using the momentum to flip her over and send the young one tumbling on her back. The woman followed up her attack with a roundhouse to the face and a rear horse kick to nearly send her opponent careening off the hull of the airship._

 _"But why," Ruby asked in confusion to her enemy. "What do you get out of it?!"_

 _"You're asking the wrong questions, Red! It's not what I have to gain, it's that I can't afford to lose," The man corrected her before Ruby charged at him. The woman then vaulted over Roman for a powerful kick, leaped up, grabbed Crescent Rose, and slid under the redhead, flipping her once more with the hook of her parasol. As the young girl spun midair, the pint-sized powerhouse finished with a roundhouse to the abdomen as her partner slammed the barrel of Melodic Cudgel to the ground and fired, causing the cane to ricochet and hit it before catching it and fired his weapon once more over his shoulder. The blast is enough to send the redhead holding on for dear life, with the embedded blade of Crescent Rose the only thing preventing her from falling to her death._

 _"I may be a gambling man," Roman stated as his partner had their enemy at sword point. "But even I know that there are some bets you just don't take. Like it or not, the people that hired me are going to change the world! You can't stop 'em, I can't stop 'em!" As he continued to talk, Ruby noticed a button on the woman's umbrella that caught her eye. She started to think of what it could do, until a thought came into her mind. A dirty but helpful one. "You know the old saying, 'If you can't beat 'em-'."_

 _Before he could finish, Ruby reached for the parasol of the woman and caused it to open from the button, sending her flying off the airship with a frightened gasp as she is silently left at the mercy of the Grimm roaming the skies and the raging winds. As she flew away from them, her partner shouted out to her out loud in surprise, "NEO," revealing her name to the redhead that finally was able to get back up on the ship to meet her eyes with her opponent's and say with determination in her voice._

 _"I don't care what you say! We will stop them and I will stop you! BET ON THAT!"_

 _With that, Ruby charged at top speed with the use of her Semblance as Roman griped Melodic Cudgel with both hands, the left hand holding the shaft and he quickly catched the projectile with the hook end and hurls it at Ruby, knocking her away. He then smacks her with the business end of the cane, ramming the weapon in her stomach, and firing another shot that sent her on her back once more._

 _As he kept hitting her, he continued, "You got spirit, Red. But this is the real world! The real world is cold! The real world doesn't care about spirit! You wanna be a hero!? Then play the part and die like every other Huntsman in history! As for me, I'll do what I do best: lie, steal, cheat, and SURVIVE!"_

 _Just as Roman prepares a final, overhead swing, him and Ruby hear a roar of rage come straight at them fron behind the man. And before he knew it,_

 _He was sent down from an attack to the head from the scythe of Qrow Branwen, who had gritted teeth of infuriation. After delivering the blow, he watched the man fall down, knocked out, and told his unconscious body with a hint of venom,_

 _"Don't you ever touch my daughter."_

 _Due to his presence, Ruby wanted to hug him and call out his name happily. Anything to show how happy she was at the moment. But before she could, a Alpha Griffon suddenly appears from the sky because of the negativity of the orange haired man's rant. The roar sends the two heroes back a few feet before the monster and the redhead's savior charge at each other. Qrow prevailed the clash easily with a slash to the beast's back of it's head, sending it through the hull and causing it to crash. With that, the man grabbed his daughter's hand and ran down the ship so the young one could grab Crescent Rose quickly. With their weapons, the two leaped off the sinking airship and the young girl propels herself in the air. Whether it was Ruby shooting at the ground as if her weapon was a pogo-stick or Qrow using his sword to dive right into the ground, they both were able to land safely on the rooftops of Vale and watched as the hacked ship fell down and exploded in front of them._

 _Not long after the explosion, the raven black haired teen turned to the redhead and asked with a sad smile, "Are you okay?"_

 _"I-I'm fine. Thank you for saving me, Qrow," Ruby replied in a cheerful way that was enough to make the man chuckle at her sudden happiness._

 _"No problem, kid."_

 _"But. How was you able to find me?"_

 _"It's a secret... Or you can just say that my father senses were tingling," The man informed her with a light laugh. "To be honest, I was supposed to help Glynda out but I was too worried about you. And because of that, she told me to go find you. So I did. And I'm glad I did... What did that bastard do to you?"_

 _"Roman didn't do anything serious," The young girl looked out to where the ship landed before saying to her savior. "The real problem is if he survived or not."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"I don't know... But Qrow?... I. It felt as if he was forced into all of this. Like he didn't ask for any of this. And even though you saved me, I just couldn't help but feel as if he shouldn't have to go down like that... It was. Sad to look at..." Ruby looked down at the ground below her sadly then asked through closed eyes. "Why is the world so cruel?"_

 _"... It's because we're cruel, Ruby. The world. Wasn't always liked this, but because of power and dictatorship, we fractured the world into this," Suddenly, the redhead felt a hand on her head that messed with her hair lightly and playfully, causing her to have a small smile. "But don't worry. One day, we'll all change it. And maybe. We can all live in harmony like the fairy tales I read you when you was little... But until then. Things gotta stay like this, okay?... Now, what are you going to do now?"_

 _"I have to find Yang and the others," Those words made Qrow's eyebrows narrow in worry that was easily spotted by Ruby quickly. "Don't you worry about me. I'm gonna be okay! And I'll come back safe and sound! For now, we're just splitting up. But we'll see each other later, okay?"_

 _"... Okay. I know, Ruby. Just. Be careful out there okay?"_

 _"I will. And I'll see you later, d-... Qrow..." With that, the young redhead left her 'uncle' back to his work as she ran to find her friends. As she did, she couldn't help but feel guilty for some odd reason. Like she had done something wrong to the raven haired man, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She tried to know, but now was not the time. So until the battle is over,_

 _she would continue to find out what went wrong..._

* * *

 _As she walked through the halls of the CCT Tower and into the elevator, Cinder felt worry sort of take over her. And it wasn't about the maiden powers. It was more about her comrades. Mercury, Emerald, Roman and even Neo. She knew the Neapolitan girl was with the orange haired criminal trying to bring the Grimm into Vale, but she didn't know if they got them there safely._

 _The feeling of anxiety made the woman a little angered and suddenly gave her the urge to try and contact her so called teammates before things would go down. So she took out her scroll and decided to call both Neo and Roman's scroll. Only for her to get a voicemail. She tried again. She got a voicemail again. Again. Voicemail. Again. Voicemail. The worry soon turned into paranoia as the elevator continued to go deeper down the tower, making the woman nervous as to what had happen to the two. Maybe nearly losing her mind._

 _But she kept calm eventually and just continued with the mission. The mission that would get them out of this once and for all. The one that promised them freedom._

 _She just hoped her 'slaves' would be alive to see it..._

* * *

 _Meanwhile on Beacon's grounds, Yang ran down the school in search for her loved one. As she tried to find Ruby, a bunch of soldiers, White Fang members, and Grimm dared to get in her way. Of course, she kept her anger in control. But she was irritated with the things that stepped in her path._

 _So due to this, she went into her opponents, ready to take them down._

 _The blonde jumped into action by punching everything effortlessly with gritted teeth. Whether it was Grimm skulls, Night's skulls, or White Fang bones. She crushed all the things that met her fist. And because of that, she didn't break a sweat, but was able to get to everyone else sooner then she thought after what felt like hours of fighting._

 _When she got to them, she wasn't able to find her teammates in the crowd, so this made her question where they were by asking Velvet, who was tired, nicely, "Velvet, have you seen any of the gang around?"_

 _"I-I haven't seen Ruby," The brown haired faunus responded through gasps of air. "As for Blake, she went to find you. And Weiss followed Pyrrha to the CCT Tower with Professor Ozpin."_

 _"Alright then, I'm going to find Ruby and Blake if you don't mind."_

 _"N-Not at all! Go ahead!"_

 _"Thank you, Velvet. Good luck," With that, the blonde left her and her friends to themselves and continued to search for her teammates. The faunus tried to catch her breathe still and tried to stay up. But she started to feel a little dizzy. And before she knew it, a red haired teen came right to her for a surprise visit._

 _Ruby Rose._

 _"Velvet, have you seen the rest of Team RWBY come by here at all," The young redhead asked nicely and out loud to her friend, who was too surprised to even talk and just looked back and forth, dumbfounded at what just happened right now. But she was kicked back into reality when her friend asked yet again. Sadly, she wasn't able to get an answer as the exhausted brown haired faunus lost consciousness and fell down, still confused as to what had just happened. "Velvet?... Velvet?"_

 _"Blake's trying to find Yang and Weiss is with Pyrrha and Ozpin," Coco answered her friend as she picked up her teammate and carried her bridal style._

 _"Thank you, I'm going to find them and get everyone together so we can end this. Good luck until then."_

 _"Got it," With that, the redhead ran away from her friends and started down the grounds of the school. It took her a while to get to her teammates because of the Grimm and White Fang members in her way, but she was able to get there with no sweat. And when she did, she found a scene about to go wrong right in front of her._

 _A red haired male that looked like a member of the White Fang, turned away from a taken down Blake, looking at something. That something being Yang, who was angered at the moment. Ruby couldn't hear what was going on through the crackling of the flames around them, but she was able to hear a ear piercing scream as it looked like the blonde was about to jump into action with anger. And that alone made the redhead just shiver a little and already predict the ending to this._

 _And she didn't like it at all._

 _So without hesitation or even thinking it out, the young girl found herself jumping into the scene to save her girlfriend from maybe a possible death. With that, she grabbed her love before seeing a shade of red pass them both and a intense pain spread through her body. Her body soon started to feel ice cold and numb all of a sudden, but that didn't matter at the moment. As long as her girlfriend was okay and safe, she didn't care what happened to her. And that's why before she lost consciousness, she was able to throw one last smile at her love. And finally,_

 _her world went black...)_

* * *

Back at the front of the Beacon Tower, Pyrrha still ran from the threat that tried to attack Weiss, who was beginning to feel normal again even though there was still a sharp pain in her chest. Eventually, the two got far enough from the building where the Schnee asked her girlfriend nicely to put her down, to which she does gently. Now on her feet, the white haired teen held her stomach in pain while taking out her scroll from her pocket and checking her contacts.

"I think I got Ms. Goodwicth's number... Oh, where is it," The younger teen told herself while her love looked back at the building with worry. She could've looked longer if it wasn't for her attention to be turned to the teen with the other half of the maiden's powers asking, "Pyrrha? What was that?"

"I..." Before the prodigy could answer to her, their conversation was interrupted by an explosion, possibly caused by Cinder, who made her way to the top of the school's tower. The two teens stare at the tower in surprise, giving them a feeling that the professor did not get out to safety. "There's no time," The red haired teen blurted out to her girlfriend before shaking her head and look at Weiss with determination in her eyes. "Go. Get to Vale and call for help."

"What about you," The Schnee asked quietly before watching Pyrrha's gaze move up to the tower once again, realizing what her intentions were. And they weren't good ones since the younger teen shook her head before grabbing the older one's wrist before she could think of moving and argued, "No... no, Pyrrha, you can't. You saw how powerful she is! Pyrrha, I won't let you do-."

Suddenly, the prodigy grabbed her love's head in both hands and silencing her with a long kiss on the lips. After a moment of hesitation, The Schnee gently pulled her in and returns the kiss, while the red haired teen slightly raised her foot behind her. Not long after, she pulled away, ending the kiss, and stared into sky blue eyes, one hand on her girlfriend's cheek and the other still in her hold.

"I'm sorry," She whispered sadly to Weiss, causing her grip on her wrist to tighten, her open hand to lightly grab hold of her weapon and her expression on her face to harden to Pyrrha's surprise. The younger teen then nodded her head and replied back words that the other didn't expect.

"I know you are... And so am I."

Out of nowhere, the red haired teen was just about to push her girlfriend into the locker behind her. That was until the tables turned and the white haired teen twirled her love behind her and pushed her into the object instead of herself, quickly took out Myrtenaster and used a little of her glyph to hold the older teen inside, preventing her use of her semblance to help. Due to this, Pyrrha started to shout through the locker, pleading, "Stop, please! Weiss, don't do this! Please!"

While her pleads, Weiss used her phone to hack into the locker began typing coordinates into it. She looks at her love with watery eyes and tells her,"Pyrrha, please!... Just stop already... Cinder wants me. That's all she wants. She wants what I have. And what I want is for you to be safe... I'm scared. Okay, I'm scared. And not for me- For you!... And that's why I have to do this! If I do this, you will be okay-. You will still be alive, and that's enough for me! Now, I'm going to go in there and give her what she wants. With force. And I need you to stay as far away from here as possible, okay?!... I love you, Pyrrha. And I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't... I love you..."

Finally, the Schnee stepped back and watched the locker fly away with a crying red haired teen in it. Once it was out of reach, the young teen stopped using her glyph, clenched her fists and walked toward the tower with determination in her eyes. She honestly didn't know what was going to happen in the tower this time. But one thing was for sure.

 _This might've been her last battle..._

 **Okay, so that was it for this chapter. The next one might not be the last, but I gotta ask. You guys want a chap tomorrow, because I still love you is a weekday thing so that's why I asked. Also, if you guys have any tips for me, please feel free to tell that would be really helpful. And one more thing. YOU. CANNOT. CALL. BS. ON. QROW. SAVING. RUBY. You just can't. Anyway, until the next chapter, have a good day! :)**


	13. Broken Promises

With the fallen body of her love in her arms, Yang fell down on the ground hard in front of her partner and their enemy. As she was on the floor, she stared at the cold face of Ruby with complete shock in her eyes.

The fact that her girlfriend looked so cold and still was enough to make something break inside the blonde. But it didn't stop the cause of this as the man slowly approached the two lovers with a swing of his sword to the side, casting blood from it. But he was soon stopped by the black haired faunus throwing herself between them and giving the man a stare of determination. One that wasn't enough to phase him at all. But simply cause him to ask in a low tone,

"Why must you hurt me, Blake?"

With those words, he swung his sword through the girl's head, killing her. Or at least that's what he thought until her whole body vanished in thin air so he could watch the real Blake flee while grabbing Yang's arm, who was carrying Ruby behind her back while looking at the ground.

As they escaped from the cafeteria, the faunus turned to see her emotionless partner just running with a blank expression on her face. One that was enough to tell Blake that she had probably mess up. And the thought sent a single tear forming in her eyes. But before she could cry, she soon found the rest of their friends started to make their way inside the air buses near them with Oobleck and Port getting them to safety.

She thought that her friends would be okay. But the more she got closer to them, the more she got closer to them, the more she found them in critical states. She saw them with cuts all on their faces, deep ones on their whole bodies and maybe even some blood that tinted the color on the clothes a darker color. At that point, she ceased to function properly. Her friends were being injured and her leader had just lost a leg. To make matters worse, their home was being infested by Grimm.

At this point, she just couldn't help but feel it was her fault before looking at the redhead one last time and break into tears. As she cried quietly, she looked at the frozen Yang and whispered, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

"Hey," Sun interrupted suddenly behind Blake to get her attention and state to her softly, "She's gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale."

"But Weiss and Pyrrha are still missing," Nora shouted out to the monkey faunus while sitting next to Ren, who both were too battered and bruised to fight or even get up. "We can't leave them behind!" Before Sun could tell them the horrible truth, everyone's gaze went to Yang, who had now laid Ruby on the cold ground and stared at her body. While she did, she couldn't help but stare at the problem right in front of her.

Ruby's right leg was gone. One of her source of teleportation was cut off. And she couldn't help but feel like she was the one to blame. But at the same time, she thought of what she told her a while back. When they fought Neon and Flynt. The promise she made. She promised she wouldn't pull something like this again. She promised she wouldn't jump to her life for a cost ever again.

And here she was. On the floor, unconscious and probably near death from blood lost. Here she was. Breaking her promise.

The thought made the goldilocks stare for a little longer until she came to her knees and murmured with now watery eyes. "Y-You promised... You promised you wouldn't do that again... You promised me, Ruby... So why... Why did you do it- Why?!" The blonde wanted to say more things but it was interrupted with the waterfalls she had just created that landed on the young one's chest. It took a while for the tears to sink in and for Yang to try and stop. She tried to stay calm. But the tears kept falling. A fire that felt familiar roamed through her body, now hot as ever. And her fist closed for her blood to draw on the ground below lightly like paint. The color red had now made her sanity disappear. And before she knew, she let out a loud roar of pain out to the sky while releasing a burst of anger out from her, causing her hair to glow a brighter shade of yellow and her eyes to change to a blood red that made her tears stop but still stay in them. By then, she had became angry.

And she too, had broken her promise to Ruby.

Before any of her friends could stop her, Yang ran back to the city while continuing to yell out into the sky with complete anger. As she ran down towards Beacon, she was met with a group of Grimm that soon roared at the blonde with the exact anger. At this point, with their yells, she could've easily be mistaken for one of them.

When she came close enough that she could see the red in their eyes, the goldilocks started to take down her opponents in the most brutal ways. Busting skulls, breaking arms, decapitating them, and even tearing heads clean off with one jerk from her hands. She didn't mind though. It was as if she even forgot she was fighting them as all she could see was their blood fly over her like rain and the flames around them served as lighting. And she didn't care for the sight either. But if anyone was to see her right now.

They could easily mistaken her for a monster.

As she dashed down through the school in search for whoever did this, she got a call from her scroll. A call from Pyrrha, to which she quickly answered with aggravation, "Where are you?!"

"Yang! Please, you have to stop her," The prodigy yelled through the phone with worry in her voice.

"Stop who?!"

"Weiss," She answered with a cry that caused the anger in Yang's blood to boil even more. "She's going after that woman at the top of the tower! She doesn't stand a chance-." The blonde, without hesitation, hung her friend up and started to run as fast as she could to the tower, not stopping for anyone. It was bad enough that her girlfriend was hurt along with Blake, but if anything was to happen to her other teammate, she might have lost it. So she just ran down Beacon with rage in her eyes and tears that fell down the cold concrete floor underneath her. She was going to find Weiss and bring her back to safety. For her's and Pyrrha's sake. But before she can do that, she was going to be given a surprise visit from someone she haven't expected to be on school grounds at the moment. The one that had started all of this to begin with. The one that ruined a part of everything.

Mercury Black. And with his presence, Yang just couldn't help but call out to him with a angered smirk that would start off a talk. Or maybe a soon to be rematch, "You...

 _You have something I want..."_

* * *

Back in the city, Pyrrha decided it would be best to try and run back to her girlfriend so she could save her. She knew that it would be a long way to go but she had no choice but to do so if she wanted to get her to safety. If they were to get out of here alive. Together. She knew she asked Yang to try and save her, but she still didn't want to throw her dirty work onto someone. It just never felt right. So she just dashed through the city as fast as she could without stopping.

As she did, she ran into the two people she didn't expect to see at the time of the battle for Vale and Beacon.

Glynda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen, who were fighting off some Grimm and some of the hacked Knights that had dared to attack them. It was good to see they were doing fine in the battle. And maybe it would have been better if she didn't make them do what she was doing, but simply help her with her goal at the moment.

So as she approached them, Ms. Goodwitch used her riding crop to knock back a few Creeps, while Qrow sliced and blasted at a few infected Knights with his sword. The prodigy soon jumped into action by taking down a Knight behind her before calling out to her teacher out loud, "Ms. Goodwitch," getting the woman's attention with a gasp.

"Pyrrha, look out," The woman yelled back for the red haired girl to turn and find herself at gun point by a few more infected Knights. Of course, the teen was going to hit them with her shield like a Frisbee. That was until her action was stopped when she saw their heads shot off to her surprise. Who was the one that saved the red haired teen?

General James Ironwood, who survived his crash with his clothes damaged to reveal the right half of his body to be cybernetic. Without hesitation, he shot down all of the infected Knights with his revolver while meeting back up with the fighters. "This area's secure," He stated to them formally. "We need to-."

Before he could finish, the raven haired man's expression hardened with his teeth gritted and his eyebrows narrowed in an upsetting way. He then transformed his sword into a scythe and charged toward Ironwood to Glynda and Pyrrha's shock. "Qrow! This wasn't any of my doing!"

The scythe wielder still continued charge at the general his words. Ironwood flipped his gun in his hand and gets ready to defend himself from the attack being delivered. However, Qrow leaped right pass the man, who turned around just in time to see a large Griffon lung at him. With one swing of The scythe wielder's weapon, the Griffon was sliced in two. Upon landing, the sober man turned around to address Ironwood with a scoff, "Idiot. I know this wasn't your doing... So what now, General?"

"Someone's done the impossible and gained control of my machines," Ironwood informed them. "And that enormous Grimm seems to be fixated on the school. Glynda, form up the local Huntsmen and establish a safe zone here in Vale. We need to evacuate Beacon. Qrow, I'm leaving that to you and my men-."

"General Ironwood," Pyrrha called out to the general, getting his attention quickly along with the other two adults. "We can't leave just yet!"

"What is it, Miss Nikos?"

"Weiss is still at the school! She's about to fight against the woman in there and she wants Weiss because she has the second half of the Maiden's powers inside her!" That information made both the general and the professor wide their mouths slightly in surprise before Ironwood asked in confusion out loud,

"Why don't you have the powers?!"

"The woman came out of nowhere and tried to take them away from me. But before she could get it, Weiss jumped in front of the power and took it herself!"

"That's impossible... Where is she?"

"She's still at Beacon, general! I have to get her back! Please help me! Please!" The prodigy begged as she started to cry yet again in front of them. But before the tears could fall down, Qrow replied with a sad smile,

"Don't you worry. We'll go save her-."

"No," She shouted before he could finish, startling him and the other two adults next to him. "I got to save her! I need your help, but I have to be the one to save her! I got her into all of this! I need to get her out! So I'm going to follow you and save her! Please let me do so!... S-She can't die... She just can't..." The three adults looked at one another quietly with different and questionable expressions on their face. By the look Glynda gave off, it seemed like the men didn't have any other choice. Even if they tried to fight back, they had a feeling they would lose this one. So with a soft sigh, Qrow answered back words that made Pyrrha smile genuinely at them, "Okay, kid.

 _Let's go save your girlfriend..."_


	14. Rage

Yang looked at Mercury for a second with deep anger in her eyes before the boy replied to the look with a small smirk that made the blonde's rage build even more. She wanted to just go and punch the teen into a bloodly pulp for all the things he had cause. But before she could do that, Emerald came running from the right to him only for her eyes to catch on Yang quickly. And her presence was enough to make the mint haired teen try and take out her weapon, until her partner told her softly and sternly, "Don't." The words made her stop immediately and turn her eyes to the boy. "Don't interfere... This is our fight. And besides, no one likes a third wheel."

"Cinder's already made at you as it is-."

"And she would get really pissed if my you let her down and don't help a friend out," The gray haired teen threw his scroll towards the girl next to him and delivered a cocky smile. "I'll keep blondie company."

"But-."

"Go," Mercury yelled out in a harsh manner now. One that was enough to make Emerald call him an idiot in a whisper before running away from the scene, leaving the boy to the blonde haired demon approaching him in a walk.

He thought she would take her precious time until she suddenly threw a punch at him that countered his feet to cancel the attack. This was successful, but it wasn't able to stop the blonde from sending a rocket punch out of nowhere in his chest, sending him into the building behind him hard, causing it to be destroyed a little, before he fell down from the impact.

The boy jumped through the rubble to find the goldilocks continue to approach him slowly, making him stand still to reply with a smile, "Nice to see you too. Is this your way of saying hello-."

"How the hell are you standing," His opponent asked with a hint of venom in her voice.

"Ha ha ha. The real question is did you really think you could take me down? You should know that I tricked you into doing what you did and that I also went a little too easy on you."

"I fucking know that," Yang yelled while flaring up more along with her volume. "How the fuck are you walking?!"

"Fine, I'll tell you." The gray haired boy then bent himself down to pull up a sleeve of his pants and reveal what the blonde had hit back at the singles round. And what she found was what she expected.

A prosthetic leg.

"Yep... And it's the expensive kind too-. Be glad you didn't break both of them or I would've been really pissed. You should really try and get a prosthetic arm or two. I highly recommend it."

"I'm not the one that needs another limb. Ruby does... Do you want to know what it felt like when she lost her leg?"

With a scoff, Mercury replied, "If you win, then you can tell."

"Then let round two begin," The blonde said with a growl before getting into a fighting stance with the gray haired boy. The two shared one last glance as gray eyes met red ones. With that, the crackling fire around them let out one loud yet quick cry, signaling the start of their battle.

Yang dashed at Mercury with yet another punch that he dodged quickly to counter with a quick kick towards her side, making her techniques from earlier not work a second time. The boy thought it would've been enough to push her away, but the attack proved to be useless to the blonde, who then punched him in the stomach hard. But not hard enough to send him into the sky. No. She wanted to savor every moment of this. So instead, she started to send a barrage of punches at the teen before he was able to make himself escape from the hold with next punch he used to jump in the air his hands. The action hurt him a little, but it gave him the boost to flip and deliver a drop kick to the goldilocks who was able to dodge it. But was not able to stop the next kick that hit her side yet again to send her flying.

As she started to head for the ground face first, Yang was able to flip back to her feet and slide on the ground a little before fully stopping. With the distance between them, it gave him the time to throw a smirk at his opponent to make her anger become more apparent as she then dived at him with a ear piercing yell. With the dash of another punch, Mercury found a way to stop the next attack with a clash from his feet. He was able to stop her yet again, but it still made his prosthetic foot break a little as he saw his foot crook a little to the right. He knew things would get worse from here. But because of his stubbornness, he just continued to fight against the angered blonde.

After the clash, it didn't take long for the two to have a full on struggle with fist against legs. The two teens jumped and skipped steps on the flaming battlefield around them while throwing many different attacks at the other with their weapons. As they did, the other was able to hit the other with either a roundhouse kick or a elbow smash. The two were both sending brutal attacks to the other to try and take down each other with all they got.

Mercury was able to get some hard hits on Yang that made her lose her balance at times and even make her pause so he could deliver a Yakuza kick and even give her a calf kick. But the blonde was still able to get back at him with more punches mostly aiming at his face and chest mainly. She would sometimes hit the legs occasionally, but again. She tried not to since she wanted to savor the moment.

Soon, Yang was able to roar out loud to the sky, causing her to flare up yet again before she delivered a series of punches at her opponent. As she attacked, she used only three types of punches that caught him off guard; Extended knuckle, elbow strike, and normal punch. Soon, the gray haired boy felt as if he was going to pass out from the attacks he was given. But the goldilocks knew she wasn't done with him just yet. No, she wanted to go out with a bang.

So she threw Mercury a bell clap before she kicked him with all her might in the stomach, making the boy nearly pass out from the attack. The gray haired teen was then slammed down to the ground by the goldilocks, who then jumped up a little to give him a punch in the back, almost crushing his backbone before he fell down. Finally, she delivered one last kick to his side that threw him to the wall beside him through the fire, burning his pants as he went through and taking away all his aura when he landed on the ground with a low grunt of pain.

At this point, Mercury knew he had screwed up by asking for another battle against Yang. And he wanted to run away from the fight. But even when he tried to get back up, his body was too hurt by the blows he was given from the blonde. At this point, he thought he wouldn't be able to get out with his feet so he started to drag himself away from his opponent. Only for the goldilocks to approach him slowly. In his eyes, the girl was like a devil whose eyes stood right out of all of the destruction around them like pools of blood. The thought of him being captured by her gave him chills down his spine and made it give him another reason to run.

But sadly, before he could, it was too late. Yang was already too close to his range to where she could've killed him in two seconds, but instead, she just looked at him with those demonic eyes that gave him fear. Yet, of course, he had to look death in her eyes and try to keep calm. So even with nervous sweat beads sliding down his head, he was able to throw a crooked smile and yell out to his enemy, "Alright! You win... I guess I'm really not strong enough to take you down... But I will say this... You call us the evil ones right? Yet, look at yourself. You are no different from me. From Cinder. And not even from your so called mother that she told me about... Just face the facts, blondie. You and I are the same."

After a slight chuckle from him, the goldilocks walked to the right of him and bent herself down to his level to ask with a blank face, "You really want to know what it felt like?..." Before the gray haired boy could answer, Yang's hand had grabbed one of his legs in just seconds. And with a hard jerk on it,

She snapped it straight out of it's socket, causing blood from the leg to fly in the air like rain before hitting the ground to color it. With that, Mercury cried out to the sky in pain before passing out from exhaustion. The final thing he was able to see after blacking out was those red eyes. The ones that would give him fear when he would second think about it.

"Huh," The blonde whispered to herself still with a blank expression before she got back up to look at his body and tell him with an enrage look on her face. "It felt just like that..." With those words, she decided to leave the knocked out boy and continue to go and save Weiss. She could've went to chase Emerald, but she just felt like she was going to get hers so she left them to themselves at the moment as she walked down the blood ashed covered ground to her friend.

 _And to make the main source suffer for her actions._

* * *

Once she stepped through the entrance of the Beacon tower, Weiss ran to the nearest elevator and used her strength to try and force the doors open. It took her a while due to the lasting pain she still had in her body, that tried to fade away over time. But she eventually opened them to find that Cinder has left a large hole in the floor and roof of the elevator on her way up. The Schnee stepped inside the elevator, jumped on top of it to lay herself on the wall and used her glyphs to make a path for herself to walk up to the main cause of her home's destruction. Soon, she was able to jump on the wall and proceeded to run up the little space in a creeping position. It was cramped, but it didn't matter since she had made her way to her battle. And to end all of this.

At the top of the tower, in Ozpin's office, a large amount of smoke flowed out from the elevator due to the presence of Cinder Fall. Upon her arrival, she confidently strided to the window across the room with a smirk on her face. As if it sensed her presence, the Dragon that flown around Beacon like it was it's nest climbbed up to the top to peer at the woman through the window with a screech, only for her to reply in a gentle tone, "Shhhh... This is your home now."

The Dragon stared at her for a second before uttering a quieter screech. Cinder backed away from the window to take in the view she was given. But the sound of approaching footsteps distracted her, making her look over her shoulder at the elevator. After a few moments, the footsteps suddenly stopped only for the elevator doors' to open immediately with a block of ice flying straight toward Cinder, who casually leaned to her right to dodge it easily.

The ice was soon followed by Weiss diving towards the woman with Myrtenaster in hand only for the woman to put a hand up and grab it to push the girl away from her. While Cinder used fire to hover in the air, Weiss got back up quickly and grab her weapon, which to her surprise, was thrown back by her enemy in a sort of honorable manner. Of course, she didn't let this get all into her head as the raven haired woman gained a fiery glow around her eyes and swiped her hand through the air, attacking the Schnee with an arc of fire. She then shoots a stream of fire, which the teen dives over.

Six small fireballs form in a circle behind Cinder, and she send another streak of fire toward Weiss, who barely avoided it. Once again, the Maiden send a stream of fire down the white haired teen's way, but this time, the young teen dodged it by rolling on the floor before she leaped toward her opponent through the flame, and as soon as the fire stopped, she spun around and slashed the woman's arm with her weapon. However, the raven haired woman catched the teen's blade and pulled her in, causing the Schnee to turn around. Making her slam her palm into the white haired teen's stomach as fire burst forth and blasted the teen away.

Weiss slamed into a wall and fell to her hands and knees. She then stand back up and faced Cinder with determination still in her eyes. The woman propeled herself forward with flames jetting from her hands as she smirked once again. She attempted to slam into the Schnee's abdomen, but the teen leaped into the air above her with a back flip and hit her opponent with another large spear of ice. Causing the raven haired woman to be tossed across the floor from the impact.

Cinder landed on her front and slide as she pushed herself off the floor to get back on her feet, performing a back-handspring. Her smirk turns into a look of slight concern upon the sight of Weiss charged forward to slam her shield into the woman's abdomen and push her over. As she stumbled backward, the white haired teen hit her enemy's right hand with her weapon, then slashed the woman's left hand not long afterwards. She then spun around and slashed across the raven haired woman's abdomen and legs.

Weiss spun around gracefully to attack again, but Cinder performed a backflip whilst kicking her, with flames trailed behind her foot. The kick knocks the Schnee into the air on for the teen to quickly right herself. She dashed at the women with her weapon pointed straight at her. Six fireballs appeared around her opponent again, but they dissipate when the woman tried to backhanded the white haired teen.

This only gave Weiss the chance to launch herself toward Cinder and try to stab her only for the woman to grab Myrtenaster between her arms, causing them to fly in the air due to the momentum. The two turn each other in mid-air, fighting to be the one on top only for them to land and cause dust to surround the area they were in. When it settled, the Schnee came out on top with her weapon holding her opponent in a choke hold with the woman barely managing to hold her enemy's weapon away from her neck, drawing blood from her hands that stained her blade, tinting the material it was made of. Outside, the Dragon flew away as the woman's eyes begin to glow as she applied heat to Myrtenaster in her hands. Her grip tightens as she heats the weapon more and more, staring over her shoulder at her enemy.

Upon hearing a loud screech from the beast outside, Cinder turned her gaze ahead and smirk at Weiss, who gained a look of fear. While Weiss set her focus on the Dragon that was flying toward the tower her opponent finally snapped the Myrtenaster's melted blade into pieces. Just before the Dragon slammed its wing into the roof of Ozpin's office, The woman elbowed the Schnee in the abdomen, causing the windows around them to shatter and the teen to go flying across the room, taking away the last of her Aura to her opponent's surprise and distaste. With that, Cinder just walked towards Weiss while shaking her head to take her win and to end all of this herself.

"It's unfortunate she was promised a power that was never truly hers," The woman then kneeled down to the Schnee to hold her chin up and look into her eyes with a evil smile. "Then. You thought you could take it in order to make the pain stop for her and make things better for everyone. Sadly. The power was never meant for you either. But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you and her could never have imagined."

Weiss quickly pulled away from Cinder's touch to sit up and match the stare she was given with anger in her eyes, "You can kill me. You can do whatever you want. But you will never get the power no matter what you do. And even if I'm dead, I promise you that you will never be able to lay a finger on Pyrrha. That's a promise!"

The woman frowned with narrow eyes at her opponent before continuing, "... Funny... I used to say the same thing about someone else too... But. Let's see if what you say is true." With that, Cinder stood back up and formed an obsidian bow and arrow. She pulled back the arrow and lowered the bow to aim at her weakened opponent. Nearby, a flare of fire appeared out of nowhere to reveal that someone finally reached the top of the tower and her friend.

That flare was Yang Xiao Long. The one who was going to save Weiss Schnee.

Or at least that's what she thought.

She looked upon the scene when she got there to the Schnee look at her teammate sadly before smiling and closing her eyes, accepting the fate that awaits her. And as she did that, she said one last thing to the blonde that hit her core.

"Yang. Tell Pyrrha. I'm sorry. Ice cream's going to have to wait... And I'm sorry for you too."

Finally, after letting her say her last words, Cinder then loosed the arrow, which planted itself directly in the center of Weiss's chest. Yang watched in horror as the white haired teen gasped in pain. But before the teen lost consciousness, she lifted her shaking hand to Yang as if she wanted her to grab it. This made the blonde try and grab it from afar, expecting to hold it. But instead, what she was given was a ball of orange flying straight at her to hit in her chest, making the woman yell out in anger, "WHAT?!"

With that last action, Weiss smiled one last time before drawing her last breath and falling the ground, lifeless. Yang's eyes widened in horror as she clenched her fists closed and then suddenly exploded with the yell of her friend out to the sky, causing her to let out yet another flare of rage to the sky and for flames to burst from her towards the woman, who was able to dodge them easily, but was not able to contain her anger. Finally, after the scene was done, Cinder was met with a enraged Yang that looked more angered then before. She didn't know what changed about the blonde until she saw a sight she was completely surprised of.

Wet orange eyes making tears fall down her face, replacing red ones, and a frown filled with rage on her face before she looked at the killer of her best friend and told her in a deep tone that summed up everything that was going to happen next,

 _"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! AND FOR WEISS' LIFE!"_


	15. Turning Tables

On top of the tower, Cinder couldn't help but look at the teen in front of her with a blank expression that proved as a good way to hide her anger. As she did, she thought about what she was going to fight in a couple of minutes. The friend of the young girl that she just killed. And not to mention it was easy to do as well. So that meant this blonde haired fighter would be easy to defeat as well, right?

Well, it depends on what she saw of the girl. Which was just a bunch of punches thrown at Grimm and some attacks aimed at a couple of students. The woman could easily tell that her strength was fist being thrown along with anger, which was what she saw at the moment. But other then that, she thought she had a chance at taking down the teen. Maybe even leaving her for dead if she was lucky. So the woman just threw a smug smile at the goldilocks before blurting out to her, "First Nikos. Then Schnee. And now... Xiao Long... How ironic. You three were probably good friends, weren't you-."

"YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT ME," Yang yelled out to Cinder with so much rage that it made her shiver a little from the sudden outburst. But this was soon followed up with a small chuckle as the woman continued while walking around the teen with a sway in her hips.

"Oh. Don't I know a lot about you... I know the fact that your mom left you and your precious dad. Not only that, but you were given a little sister in her absence... Speaking of Ruby, who knew you would have a kine eye for not only your own 'sister', but for the daughter of Summer Rose. It's again, ironic. Summer Rose and Raven Branwen. Two woman that used to love each other almost to death. Had two children that fell madly in love with one another. Only for one to lose everything and become the demon the other didn't ask for... You weren't able to save her. That's funny to me. Ha ha... It's just like they said... 'Like mother, like daughter'."

With those last words, Yang blasted at the woman with a scream of irritation, only for her to dodge it easily, causing the angered blonde to nearly fall off the tower before she swung herself back to meet with her opponent's evil amber eyes. With that, Cinder taunted her to come at her again, making the goldilocks do exactly so with a fist aiming straight at her face. The raven haired woman this time grabbed her arm and threw her down behind her hard to the ground. Of course, this didn't hurt her enemy as much, but it gave her enough time to call out to the Dragon flying around them with her glowing eyes.

As if it was being command to do something, the beast let out a loud screech before swerving in the air and prepare to dive into the teen. Yang was just about to throw a punch at the woman who had her back to her until she was stopped by the Grimm that had hit her back with it's wing, causing her to flip back down to the floor.

The blonde shook her head from the impact, only to throw herself at Cinder and was able to land a fist to her face like she had promised. The woman trembled a little from the impact but was able to counter with a flaming kick to Yang, making her catch the attack. Which was a bad idea since the woman then formed her own punch that was sent to the blonde, who was hit by it but was able to take the attack. Yet she was not able to take in the next kick delivered from her opponent that hit her in the cheek hard enough to send her away yet again.

Cinder couldn't help but chuckle yet again before the blonde came back at her with a barrage of punches that she was able to dodge freely and peacefully from like she was dancing to loving music. The music of cries from the teen and from those below. But soon, the goldilocks was able to send a few attacks on the woman that was able to throw her down. The raven haired woman got back up quickly and got into a position before throwing her attack, four fireballs. Yang managed to roll and jump over each one but was not able to survive the next attack sent at her, a foot to her side.

She almost sent herself back to the floor before she spun back up with a 360. Cinder's smile then disappeared in a instant at how she was able to manage herself through the anger that consumed her. If this kept up, she probably would've lost more of her precious time and even lose the Dragon. So she thought for a second to herself, giving her time to think of something that made a smirk reappear on her face.

With the thought set, she looked at Yang, who was now shooting at the woman with her Ember Celica, to dodge the attacks then throw more fireballs at her to counter. With the combination of her bullets and the fire, the girls were able to make mini explosions in front of their eyes as they left smoke around them. This made the blonde vulnerable to any attack that would be sent to her, so she tried to watch herself through it.

Only for Cinder to dive right into the teen with her obsidian bow and stab her with the metal end, making her pierce through her side. This, of course, hurt Yang, but did not stop her from grabbing the woman and twirl her so she could throw her away. This caused the raven haired woman to spin in the air, teleport her bow back into her hands and blow a arrow at her, hitting her in the side yet again, making the blonde cry out to the sky before falling down once again.

Cinder thought she took down the teen before she got back up with a enraged expression on her face. "How many damn times am I going to have to take you down," The woman asked to Yang, who just roared to her in anger, making her smile for unknown reasons. One that was soon to be answered.

Before the teen could look, the Dragon dived yet again with it's wings spread out towards the goldilocks. Only for her to do a back flip to dodge the attack. This was successful, but it was not able to stop her from getting a fireball to the chest from Cinder, sending her down on her back. The blonde tried to get back up and fight more until a foot was stood on her chest out of nowhere, causing her to scream in pain. The Dragon above them screeched out from the negativity around it as the raven haired woman continued to put more pressure on her foot, making her opponent continue to scream.

"This is just so funny," Cinder chuckled to herself out loud. "It's just. How can I contain myself when giving you teens so much pain is so hilarious to look at?!" She then stepped on her chest hard again, this time taking the blonde's last ounce of aura from her body while making her cringe under her enemy's foot. "Oh, does that hurt? Here, let me help the pain go away." With those words, she started to step on the teen continuously before the woman stopped from the Dragon's screech out to her. With a sigh, she tried to contain herself as she then blurted out, "I'm sorry, I just can't have too much fun with you right now. The Dragon would be jealous... So, I'll just leave you to your death. But not without taking one last thing."

Cinder took her foot off of the teen slowly before squatting down to Yang with a smirk, making the blonde yell with a stutter, "Y-You won't get away with this! Y-You will p-pay for this! ALL OF THIS!"

"Yep. I will pay for this." With that, the woman lifted up a now gloved hand with a red sign on the back and started to put it on the teen's face. As she did, the teen started to lose consciousness to her distaste and because of the fact that she was hurt pretty bad. But before she lost it, she heard and saw the woman sigh before replying to someone from her left,

"Always a interruption with you..."

With that, Yang had closed her eyes and waited for fate to do whatever it wanted with her body. And let herself leave this Earth in a brutal way for all the pain she caused. This might have looked like just a death to anyone. But to her,

 _This was just a punishment..._

* * *

"It's alright. I got ya..."

"Where is she?!... No... No, please don't do this! NO!"

"It's no use! It's no use..."

* * *

"... Nothing."

"Just turn it off. Without the CCT, there's no point."

"Communication down across the entire Kingdom, no way to contact the outside world... and Ozpin's still missing."

"Yeah."

"This is bad, Qrow."

"Yeah,

 _This is bad..."_

 **I know. I know this chapter was pretty short, but only because this was just the battle. And it's kind of how I planned the battle. Just so you know, I'm not a long battle personally, I just like battles that are quick but still good. Honestly, what did you guys think of Yang vs Cinder? Please tell me. In the next chapter, we get what happens after the battle and I kind of have things planned for that so until then, have a good day! :)**


	16. Aftermath

Yang opened her eyes to find herself in a somewhat familiar room that looked nearly empty. The room was in a shade of brown due to it being made out of wood so it wasn't the most beautiful place she's ever been in, to be honest. But it did seem to be in a lively habitat based on the birds that were tweeting outside and the light that had shined through the window next to her.

The blonde was bored and kind of exhausted from what has happened. But she did not plan to stay in the bed for long. So with the little strength she had, she forced herself out of bed and approached the door to the left of her. As she did so, she could hear footsteps approaching her room in a slow manner. She didn't know who was causing the noise, but because she's always up to know something if it was amiss, she just opened the door a little to find the one man she was trying to avoid a while back.

Qrow Branwen, who was drinking from his flask before looking at the blonde haired teen and greeted quietly, "Hey, Firecracker."

"Qrow," She replied back in a low tone before after a few more seconds passed, proceeded to talk to him. "What the hell happened?"

"All I can say. Is that I saved you. I brought you. And my little girl back home... With your dad, Taiyang."

"What?! Where is that asshole-. Is he with Ruby?!" Yang blurted out loud at the man with anger in her voice that made him signal for her to calm down then continued to explain,

"Taiyang is with Ruby, yes-. And trust me, I'm mad about it too... But I can't stop him from seeing her. That would be rude of me even though he took her away from me," Qrow stated that with a hint of venom that quickly caught the goldilocks attention as she saw him close his fist in a tight grip. "Still. He's family. He deserves to see his niece..."

"Niece or daughter, that guy can't get near Ruby! He just can't-."

"Yang!" The sober man yelled out loud enough to stop his family member and make her listen as he let out a small sigh while covering his face with the palm of his hand in irritation. "Just. Let him talk to her, okay? She won't get hurt, I promise that... And besides. I bet you want to know what happened too, right?"

"Wait. Speaking of Ruby, is she okay," Yang asked with worry to the redhead's father, making him bite his lip in response. "Will her leg be okay?!"

"... Let's just say she's going to be just fine. And who knows. She might be okay with things this way. Besides, you and I both know that Ruby wouldn't let this get the best of her. She would look at the positive of things..."

"Thank god," The goldilocks sighed to herself before something in her mind snapped and made her ask Qrow with concern, "What happened back at Vale?!"

"Vale's A-okay. But the School is kinda... Let's say under construction as we speak. Due to the damage and the number of Grimm, everyone had to get the hell out of there quickly. So. Yeah..."

"Wait, what about Weiss?! What happened to her-. Is she okay?!"

The question was enough to make the raven haired man look down for a second until he looked back up at Yang, with his serious red eyes and informed her in a grave tone, "Yang. When we got up to that tower, Cinder escaped. You was okay. A few hits here and there, but there was nothing that a bandage or two couldn't hide or clean... As for Weiss... We couldn't find her body anywhere. We searched for a while before we came to terms and... Well, found her broken weapon. After talking out things, me and Ironwood came to conclusion that... That she was dead..."

The blonde haired teen looked down at the floor with teared up eyes at the thought that her best friend was gone. Out of her life. And would probably never come back. All she could think about was how everyone else would take this. How Ruby would take this. And especially how Pyrrha would take it. It was hard to believe, but all of it was true. And it truly broke Yang's heart in two. But before she could cry, she held back her tears as she heard the man continue,

"Look, I'm going to leave you too it, Yang. I. Am so sorry you had to deal with all of this. I know how much Weiss meant to you and all I can just say is I'm sorry, kid. I wish things would've turned out better... Now. If you, um. Don't mind. Can I see your, uh, girlfriend first before you do?" Yang didn't like the fact that Qrow wanted to be next to see the redhead. But there was nothing she could do. Besides, he was Ruby's dad. It was for the best that he would see his daughter as soon as possible. So, as an answer, she just nodded with a straight face, making the man smile back before leaving the scene. And leaving the blonde to think about things once again. And how she had changed everything with just one punch.

Outside of the hallway, Qrow made his way to Ruby's room where he heard from the door Taiyang talk softly to the young redhead. That alone made him start to fume inside before he ended it all by interrupting from behind the blonde haired man, "Hey, mind if me and her have a talk?"

The two turned their direction to the man who made the other in the room ask in anger, "What I can't stay here?!" Unlike Ruby, who was happy to see her old man's face at the doorway.

"Tai, please... Before I do something that I will regret..." With those words and after a moment or two, Taiyang finally found himself get up from his chair and walk out of the room, leaving Qrow to Ruby. But while he did, he threw a glare at the raven haired man that showed how upset he was that he ruined their moment. But the sober man didn't care. All he cared about was talking to his kid. And that's what was going to happen about now.

After the blonde haired man left, Ruby shared a look with Qrow filled with happiness. Which was kind of a way of saying hello for both of them. They did this for a while in silence until the raven haired man blurted out while walking towards the young girl, "How are you feeling?"

"Um," The redhead thought for a second then answered, "I'm kind of hurt... All over?"

"Heh heh. I can understand that." Qrow sat down in the chair next to Ruby quietly then touched his daughter's hand lightly over the covers before asking with hesitation in his body and sudden sadness that appeared in his eyes that soon adapted to the young girl as well. "Um... What do you remember happened back at Beacon if you don't mind me asking."

"... All I remember is that I got into a fight with Roman and his partner before you saved me. Then after that, I tried to save Yang and..." Ruby wasn't able to continue on as she looked down at her lower half that was still covered by the cover she was under. The sober man was quick enough to notice the sadness in his daughter's eyes and decided to try and say something to get her mind off things. But sadly, he didn't know what to talk about. He wanted to be a good person right now but he was so screwed with no thought of what to say. So he just stayed quiet about matters before the redhead sniffed out of nowhere, catching the raven haired man's attention, and said, "I know it's gone... And I know she's gone... But. She wouldn't want me to be sad, right?"

"Y-Yeah, kid... She wouldn't..."

"Then why... Why do I feel like crying," Ruby stuttered as tears started to roll down her eyes slowly to fall down on the covers and darken the color of them. Qrow watched as her waterworks became faster and faster by the minute, causing the man to quickly move from his seat and hold her in a comforting hug and stroked her hair so she could cry in his chest. Which seemed to have worked, but did not help the tears stop at all since his young one continued to cry. "Why. Why do I feel like crying because she's gone? B-Because the ones I love dearly are always leaving me?..."

"... I... I won't leave you, Ruby," The raven haired man whispered in the redhead's ear, making her cries soften a little. "I promise I won't. I promised your mom I wouldn't as well... I remember... When I first met you..." With those words, the tears finally stopped for Ruby to look up at her 'uncle' with a questionable expression. An expression that only made him wipe the tears away from her face with a warm smile before he explained further, "Of course, I didn't know you was my kid back then. I just thought you was Summer's kid. Along with Taiyang's... And I just couldn't help but see so much joy in your eyes. So much. Pure happiness. Happiness that I hoped would never go away. Just like her... So, I promised her. And you. That I would never leave your side. Even in death... Summer isn't gone. And so as Weiss... They are still here... In your heart... They'll be okay... They'll always be with you in your heart... And I will always be with you too... Because we love you, Ruby... Your my daughter... I love you... And I always will..."

Ruby looked deep into Qrow's red eyes and she could tell in just seconds. He actually cared. Every word he said was true and had heart to them. She didn't know Summer well, she didn't get to say good bye to Weiss. But she couldn't help but think maybe he was true. Maybe they just left for a while and decided to just keep a eye on her. To watch her life unfold. She didn't know what happened before she was born or how her mother and 'uncle' knew one another so well, but she knew he loved her. She knew he loved his daughter. And that alone made her cry not tears of sadness, but tears of joy. As she blurted out through the waterfalls she made and through his chest that she used to bury her head back in once again softly,

"Thank you... Dad..."

Qrow's eyes went wide open at the sound of him being called that. He couldn't help but feel as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders after being called dad. He felt as if he could dance in joy. He felt like the luckiest man in the world at that moment. He felt... He felt like crying himself... But he held his emotion back and just held the young redhead tighter. He held his child tighter as their hearts beat at the same time in harmony. "Your welcome. Ruby..." With that, the man just sat there with his kid for a while longer before leaving her to herself. And to her girlfriend.

As soon as he left the room, he saw a worried Yang who looked into his eyes with concern, making him reply with a small grin and watery eyes, "She's all yours, Firecracker..."

"... Thank you, Qrow," Finally, it was Yang's turn to see Ruby and talk with her. To talk about what happened that day. To talk about her leg. To talk about their promises.

So she quickly walked to her love's room only to open it a little and call out to the redhead who was looking out at the window at the cute birds outside chirping and singing in the shining light softly, "R-Ruby?..."

"Yang..." The young girl replied quietly to her love, causing her to froze for a second before the redhead turned to her with a sad smile. That alone made her girlfriend run straight to her and hold her in a tight hug that automatically made her return the embrace. With them in each other's arms tight, the blonde told her love with a sniff in her ear,

"Thank god you are okay!"

"I know. I'm so happy you're okay too," The redhead replied while tightening her grip on her girlfriend's body that made her chuckle a little.

"Were you that worried about me-."

"Yes! I was, Yang!"

"You shouldn't be, Ruby," The goldilocks responded sadly as she stroked the young girl's hair for comfort. "If anything... It's me who should've been worried! You saved me and sacrificed your leg for me... Your leg," Yang thought about the situation before pulling Ruby away in a harsh manner and asked with an upset tone in her voice, "Why did you do that, Ruby?! Why did you break your promise and save me?! I-... I thought you was dead! I thought-."

"Yang... You know I would never want you to die. I want to spend my life with you for every second I live. I want you to be safe no matter what. Again, it's a act of love that I can't just pass up on. So, I'm sorry, Yang. But I would do anything for you. Even if it means losing a leg or two."

"Still," The blonde yelled out through tears before trying to make a point. But before she could, Ruby quickly held her tight again and stroked her golden streaks of hair to calm her down. The whimpers of the older teen made the young one shiver under her but didn't make her let go. Not now. And not ever. Instead, she just kissed her cheek and whispered she was okay softly in her ear, calming the goldilocks down a little and causing her to cry less. "I... I can't help but feel like I'm to blame..."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Yang... You need to know that none of this is your fault. Please, don't beat yourself up for something I've decided to do... I did something and paid the cost that's it. And I'm happy. Because I'm still here with you, right?..."

"Y-... Yes..."

"And it will always stay that way..." The two looked into each others eyes for a second, letting the birds sing outside and the trees blow in the fall breeze in the silence. But soon, the two started to get lost in the other's eyes as they began to lean towards one another. They almost let their lips touched until Yang touched the redhead's cheek playfully and asked quietly, "W-What if you don't walk again? What if-." The blonde stopped suddenly when she tried to touch the missing spot of Ruby through the covers only to find something under them, making her stare in surprise and question in a scared manner, "W-What's that under your covers?"

"I don't know," The redhead replied normally as she started to unravel it. "Maybe it's my weapon or-." Suddenly, Ruby's eyes went up in surprise at the sight that was given to her and her love. Something that made both girls' hearts skip a beat and caused the young one's breathing to become smaller. Something they didn't expect at all actually.

And that was a prosthetic leg in replace of the lost one.

The two couldn't help but stare with mouths and eyes wide open in startle and astonishment at what they have found. The look on their faces soon changed from horror to happiness as Ruby couldn't help but laugh to herself with excitement like she got a present on Christmas and Yang just smiled the whole time before blurting out, "D-Did you know about this?!"

"N-Not at all-. This is new to me! Oh my gosh," The young girl yelled to herself while answering to her love. "C-Can we try and walk in it?"

"I don't know, Ruby. You might hurt yourself or something."

"But if I don't try, then I won't be able to walk at all! I don't want to put this leg to waste!"

"I don't know, you're probably still hurt-."

"Come on, Yang! You can even help me out if I fall down. Just a walk outside to test it out, please?... Please, Yang?" Ruby begged with her puppy eyes, Yang's number one weakness. At first, the teen ignored it for a good while. But this was ruined when the young girl added another factor to the look which was whining softly. That alone finally made the teen give in as she threw her arms in the air and replied out loud, "Fine! I'll help! Let's go!"

"Thank you," The redhead replied out loud before kissing her love on the cheek, making her blush. "Let's get started." With that, the young one got herself to sit up and put the pressure on her leg softly. At first, she tried standing, which worked, but ended up making her feel as if she didn't feel. Anything. Still, she tried to move no matter what. So she proceeded to the next stage, walking. She took one step and just like a spell cast on it, she fell straight down into Yang's arms with a grunt, feeling a little pain now.

"Don't hurt yourself, Ruby! You know we can do this some other time."

"... No. I'm fine. Let's continue, please?"

"... Okay, Rubes." The two continued to try and walk, this time with the younger teen having her arm around the other to keep balance and prevent her from falling down yet again. As they walked out of the redhead's room slowly with every step they took, the blonde blurted out to her girlfriend quietly with a smile, "Hey... Ruby..."

"Yes?"

"When I got that call from dad, I thought it would destroy our friendship... I thought I would lose you. And at that point. When you were in my arms.. When I just held you in that moment like the first time... I knew... I loved you more then a sister... And I also knew that I needed you in my life. That you was the one. And that I never wanted you to leave my life any time soon. Maybe never..."

"And I never will..." With that, the two stared into each other's eyes once more. And this time, they shared a stare before leaning in closer towards the other as their mouths got closer. Soon enough, they met, making the two share a loving kiss. The kiss was passionate and so filled with emotions of relief and joy. It was long but not tiring as they used all of their strength to keep it true. Because their love was true and would never break. That's why they continued with this. That's why they never left each other.

 _And never planned on it any time soon..._

* * *

After time passed, Winter came and covered the trees in snow and bathed the ground with it's powder in the sky. Not only that, but birds were flying south to keep warm as humans kept inside to keep warm and stay healthy. But not all of them as Ruby had decided to leave her house for a second and take in the season's air. As she listened to the wind blowing across her and felt snow fall on her body lightly, she couldn't help but feel her leg sort of jolt from the pressure underneath it. So she fixed it a little through her pants before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

The hand of Yang Xiao Long, who was now by her side happily. "You sure about this?"

"Never been more sure in my life," The redhead replied and held her girlfriend's hand lightly in a loving way. "Dad said it would work for all of us, so I have a good feeling about this..."

"That's great, Ruby..." Suddenly, before they could say anything else, they saw figures from the trees approach them in a walk. Usually if there was a intruder, the two girls would fight back against the foe, mostly Yang. But this time, instead of having hard expressions, they had soft ones filled with excitement. They had expected these figures to come for a while so they could get things started. But who were the travelers?

Team JNPR. The girls knew the team had changed from the events in a way, but they didn't know how. Now they were going to find out. By the looks of it, Jaune seemed normal, a little serious now. Nora and Ren were okay. It was Pyrrha the two were worried about. The red haired teen had a blank look on her face while walking towards her friends with her team. And that alone worried them. They knew Weiss' death changed her. They just didn't know it would take her joy by half. Maybe she was tired, Ruby thought. They would know soon enough.

When they finally came face to face with each other, Jaune asked quietly, "So. How is this going to work?"

"Why hi to you guys too," Yang replied with a hint of annoyance that made her love slap her for punishment.

"I know you guys are still saddened about Weiss and Vale," The young one stated. "But we have to remember. That woman is still out there. She's probably thinking of another plan to destroy another kingdom out there. We don't know when, but it could happen soon enough. Actually we don't know many things like how the rest of Remnant is going to deal with this. Or even where the rest of our friends are at the moment," The statement alone made her girlfriend look down at the ground and growl softly before she touched her shoulder to calm her down, which worked a little as she continued, "That's why Qrow told me before he left that we need to train together so when we see her again, we can bring her to justice."

"How will we practice for our next battle, Ruby," Ren asked in a soft tone.

"Easy. We all have a flaw, right? Yang, you have problems with your anger. So if we can try and tone it down a little, you'll have the upper hand and total control over your last resort."

"That's true," Yang agreed quietly before looking at the ground below in a little bit of embarrassment.

"Nora, Jaune, Ren, you guys can just think of more tactics for battle."

"Yet again, I'm the brains and she's the brawn." Ren said to himself, causing his friend next to him to respond out loud.

"I love being a brawn!"

"And Pyrrha," The young girl called out to the older teen of them all, catching her attention and earning her a fake smile as well. "... I need to try and fight with this leg still. I also need to try and run with it too... You? Well... Qrow told me that someone might need to mentor us in training. And. What better then you doing exactly that... You. Don't mind or anything, right? Since you're still-."

"Let me please stop you there, Ruby," The prodigy interrupted with her hand up to make her stop. She then replied with a smile on her face that didn't seem real, "I am okay, alright guys? I know Weiss is gone but I'm not mad about that. I am sad she is gone, but I promise. I will be fine... And I don't mind helping you guys out with getting used to things. If it means physically or emotionally... I am up for it, okay?"

The teens couldn't help but still look at her with frowns and sad faces, but still, the teen needed an answer from her friend eventually. So the scared and concern Ruby replied back softly, "Okay then, Pyrrha... Um, why don't we get started then?"

"Gladly," With that, Team JNPR followed their teammate with worry in their eyes, leaving the two members of Team R_BY to stay outside and think for a second. Was Pyrrha really okay? Was Team JNPR alright at the moment? Would things go as they planned. Only the future would tell. But for now, they had to worry about present matters. And get straight to training. They had to do this if they wanted to protect one another from there foes.

Especially Ruby and Yang. They had been through so much. From finding out they were sisters to losing their friends. At this point, if they lost each other, something bad might have happened to the other. So they had to keep their head up high right now. For everyone. And for themselves. Because they don't know how much time they had. But they knew that no matter what, they would never leave the others side. They would live together.

 _And hope to share a brighter future with one another..._

 **And that was it! Thanks for coming along and have a good day!:)**

 **...**

 **Okay, I would never do that to you and you know that. But that was the end of Volume Three of I Still Love You. Maybe the whole story? I don't know, it's up to you guys. You think I should continue ISLY after Volume 4 or leave it as it is? It's your choice. Yeah, it would take a while. But anyways, this has been ISLY for now. Until next time or the next fanfic, have a good day! :)**


	17. Pyrrha

Weiss Schnee.

Such a name would bring many thoughts into a person's mind. Thoughts of the corrupted SDC, thoughts of glyphs. Or even thoughts of annoyance with her actions. To many, she was just another spoiled brat that wanted anything with a snap of her fingers. If she wanted something, she would get it no matter what.

New wardrobe? No problem. Great equipment? Too easy. Pass a test? She was rich for a reason. This alone made many students of Beacon Academy look at her with discuss when the Schnee symbol stared them down. It made them want to just try and get her away from the campus and maybe even the kingdom of Remnant.

And this was all because she was another spoiled little rich girl that got anything and everything. But what people don't know is that she was missing on thing from her life that no one could give her even if they had money. Even if they had all the lien in all of Remnant, it wouldn't be enough to give her this one thing that would satisfy her for the rest of her life.

And that was love.

Unlike many students at the schools she attended, she never was able to experience true love from her household. True, she had a amazing home and service, but when it came to family? Her childhood only became more worse then it already was. She wasn't delivered kisses before falling into a short slumber. She wasn't able to play outside with others. And she wasn't able to earn the freedom she truly needed.

Instead, she stayed behind closed doors. The doors that concealed the yelling that ensued from her father and mother through arguments. Screams filled her ears, the feeling of blood running cold consumed her body, and her sight was rid of all the colors that appeared in the rainbow that she had never seen before. This all lead to a childhood that she would quickly try to trade with anyone she had ever met.

And it also lead to her horrible attitude towards others. It wasn't always the fact that the citizens around her were dumb or had too much water in their brains. To be honest, she always knew she acted this way because of jealousy. She hated how everyone could walk without having any problems clinging onto their backs. She hated how people were able to walk around their home grounds with such a lovely smile.

She hated how she was the only one who felt such pain. The true pain she was given was easily mistaken as a curse. A curse that just couldn't be lifted even if anyone tried their hardest to. No one could get rid of her tears that fell every night when others didn't see. No one...

That was. Until a certain someone entered her life ever so unexpectedly.

And that someone was none other then Pyrrha Nikos. Her role model. Her best friend. Her girlfriend.

She could easily remember how she had met such a lovely red haired teen such as herself. And that was when she finally performed on stage to all of Atlas. On the same day that yet another Mistral regional tournament. A tournament that the red haired teen won yet again. Due to her victory, she decided upon herself to celebrate by going to watch the white haired teen perform her chosen song to support her in a way and just see a good performance.

At first, this was indeed a curse for Weiss. As the action of a huntsmen in training holding a new world record would be showing up for a great production. This meant her father didn't want her child to be well. He wanted her to be the best that she could be. Throughout that night, she had sung her voice out, trying to impress her family members from the shadows. This kept on until the event finally arrived.

When it did, she was taken out to the stage like the start of a theatrical play, into the spotlight as a piano played softly the opening of a song before a crowd of people that stayed hidden in the shadows. With such a audience and a low breath, her eyes immediately spotted on the main focus of the night.

The mighty Pyrrha Nikos. With her plain in sight, she was able to quickly fall into her eyes. Those emerald eyes that she would soon fall for. She didn't know why, but those orbs showed something that she was never shown ever in her life. A feeling that she was never given even by her parents.

And that feeling was kindness. With the addition of a beautiful smile and relaxed eyebrows that were the same shade of a magnificent red, the younger teen could easily feel her body almost fall from such a impact given. It felt like she had just saw a angel, staring right at her, telling her something as lovely as a song. And just like a spell, she just had to call out to her. Reach out her hand towards the figure, and cry for help in the form of what she knew best. Song.

"Mirror, tell me something, Tell me who's the loneliest of all~? Mirror, tell me something, Tell me who's the loneliest of all~? Fear of what's inside of me; Tell me can a heart be turned to stone~? Mirror, mirror, what's behind you? Save me from the things I see! I can keep it from the world, Why won't you let me hide from me~? Mirror, mirror, tell me something, Who's the loneliest of all~? I'm the loneliest of all~..."

After the song was given, her eyes fell once again on the red haired teen. And what she saw was something that easily almost broke her heart like magic. And that was the look of worry she was delivered. The look that said everything as her claps illuminated around the crowd towards her. It was a response to her desperate call of help. And even though it would be a long wait until they saw one another once again. She knew what the call said. It was the response of help coming very soon. The help that she needed.

At least, that's what she thought until the days passed when Pyrrha disappeared from the scene. As soon as she left, Weiss was kicked out of heaven once again and taken back to her rightful home in hell. Months passed. Months of fear and isolation soon passed through the Schnee's shoulders far enough for her to take a stand. A stand that she just knew the teen would want her to make.

And that was the choice to attend Beacon Academy. Luckily for her, she was heard by her father and given a chance to start a new life outside of the cell walls. And with that choice, she became another normal girl in a normal academy. That was. Until her jealousy kicked in once again. And that all started when she met her leader, Ruby Rose.

She hated how the redhead and her friends could be so happy even in the darkest of times. It was like a mental slap in the face for her to feel so lonely once again. On her first day, every second of it was like she was on the edge of hell and was only leading right back into her prison cell. More problems ensued with the teens she met. But overtime, they never got the best of her. They never made her lose her sanity.

This was because it was kept in a chest that would never be open. Her happiness was unlocked from it's cage eventually along with her will to be free. And this was all because of the friends she had made. The friends that she had earned all because of her. All because Weiss and Pyrrha met once again. This time. In the light of day.

At first, they didn't treat each other any differently from being another student. They knew one another, at least that's what it felt like only due to status. But the more they talked among one another alone, the more they realized that status was just a disguised to their true colors. The colors that Weiss always dreamed of seeing.

Because of Pyrrha, the Schnee was able to feel so much more then hatred. She developed feelings. Sadness, happiness, shyness, and confusion. It was all because of her. It was because of the red haired teen that she started to go on friendly dates to the ice cream store not far in Vale. Because of the teen that she found herself never being afraid again. Because of her. That she finally felt what true love was like.

What was the development of jealousy towards a fellow friend soon blossomed their relationship into something more. Something that could only be confirmed on that night of the dance. With just a question and a simple yes, the two of them found themselves dancing under the nicely lit stars and the broken moon. A moon that could easily be connected once again if possible. Just like their connection.

As they swayed together, they both knew that they were just like the universe above them. Just like that moon. No matter what they would always be reconnected once again. No matter what obstacle tried to stop them. They would always return to their touch no matter what. All they had to do was make sure the connection was strong enough and sealed.

And this of course was sealed just by the simple touch of lips on the others. The feeling of being drifted away to cloud nine. The sight of nothing but each other in the Schnee's eyes. It was as if she had finally seen color for the first time. She could see a sweet dark red, a emerald green, and a bright complexion that equaled that of the shade of the bright stars.

It felt so wonderful. The pleasure to just be in her touch was like out of this world for her. It was because of her that Weiss was able to feel true love. It was because of Pyrrha that Weiss found something that she couldn't lose. And that was the feeling delivered. She didn't want to lose her touch, her taste of her lips, or her comfort. And she would make sure that would never happen no matter what.

This lead to a test that the world of Remnant gave her during the Vytal Festival. A test that showed her just how much her affection for the red haired teen was true. Blood was shed, arguments were given and secrets were discovered. But that didn't matter. The two still loved each other so much. Weiss still showed that she would do anything for her love. Especially take her life for her.

At first, when she was taken down on the tower, she felt as if she had failed her lover. That she would be scolded for doing such a dumb thing as go and fight a maiden. A god. But as she saw her best friend run up that tower, she knew. She knew that she didn't fail the test at all. If anything she passed. She passed life.

All throughout her childhood, she was given nothing but pain. Her road was covered in black and white. But when she met with those emerald eyes she adored, her road was finally changed to color in just seconds. And all throughout life, she felt such happiness that she was never given before by the red haired teen. She just wished she could love her more. Give her more affection, more pleasure, more memories. But even if such a thing made her disappointed for a while, she still accomplished one thing.

To be delivered the satisfaction of love. And with that alone, she was able to rest a while in peace. Because as long as Pyrrha was still safe and alive, she was still by her side.

 _No matter what..._


	18. The Funeral

Ruby found herself woken up by the chirps of the birds outside. Or should she say the cries of them since it sounded more like screams of agony then cheers of excitement. The sounds were also accompanied by leaves laying softly onto the glass before her, scratching the material gently. Just like the news that injured her heart the days before this one.

The news of the death of her partner.

To others, it was just a few weeks ago. But to her? It was only yesterday. The announcement was fresh in her mind along with the tears that fell down her cheeks and sunk into her covers. She knew she wasn't like everyone else. She knew she couldn't just let it slip through her hands so easily.

And this was shown every night before she fell into a slumber. Tears would hide in the darkness and die suddenly into fabric. Whines and sniffles filled the air as they slowly developed into yelling. Luckily that was only apparent for the first few days. The action soon stopped and was kept under control when Yang would hold her close in her arms for comfort.

The touch of her lover usually made her feel like she was in heaven. But not those nights. Not last night. It only reminded her more of what had happened. It only made her worry more about the future. Worry so much that she would stay up and question some nights. Will her best friend come back? Was this all a dream? Was it real? And if it was real, would it happen to her? Only three of the four questions were answered.

This was real. And Weiss was never coming back.

That alone was enough to make the young girl's waterworks continue. At least, she wanted it to. But she couldn't at the moment. Not yet. Not when she could have some moments to look at her love sleep peacefully. Until the official start of the one thing she's been regretting to attend.

The funeral of Weiss Schnee.

For now, she was free to keep watch on her lover this morning. With a twist in her arms, the redhead was able to meet with a resting goldilocks. Eyes were concealed by gentle eyelids and mouth was slightly open for drool to escape slowly down her lips. But all together, she was still the Yang that Ruby loved.

She wished she could just stay in bed today and cuddle with the blonde as much as she want. But with the check of her scroll to find the time of 1:07 P.M, she had to wake her up. She just hoped that the older female wouldn't go crazy about her action.

"Yang. Please wake up," Ruby whispered as she shook her girlfriend softly with her body. The sudden movement caused the blonde to break her slumber and meet with her love's silver orbs. With just that, the goldilocks found herself smiling cheeky and lazily before replying,

"Hey, Rubes. Did I overslept again?"

"... Today's the day..." That sentence alone made Yang's smile shape into a frown that was accompanied by a expression of anger with lilac orbs. Just because of that, Ruby was at least able to tell her without fearing for the worst. She found it kind of funny how a single trait could change everything. That's what she thought until the blonde sat up, arms still around her girlfriend to stare into the eyes she adored so.

As she held the younger one close, she couldn't help but look deep into the perfect shade of polished grey. She didn't say so, nor did she signal to it. But with that way her orbs hit hers, she could tell that something was wrong. The spark she always had died out along with the sparkle that resembled that of a star. For some odd reason, she felt so far away. So far away that the blonde haired teen suddenly felt alone on that bed in mere seconds.

She started to drift into a endless space filled of nothing but sorrow. Yet before she could, her girlfriend laid her delicate and small hands on the other's firm shoulders. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine..."

"... Okay," The older teen replied in serenity then turned her head to the exit of the room, continuing, "But I'm more worried about Pyrrha. I mean, this is Weiss, her girlfriend's funeral we're talking about. She could break down or something in front of her parents."

"I think breaking down is my job."

"Don't," The goldilocks begged softly, getting up from the bed to head for her closet. The redhead still wrapped herself around her lover with her arms and legs while listening carefully. "I've seen too many tears be shed that aren't mine. Unless I cry, you can't cry."

"I don't want to be rude, but speaking of crying, I haven't seen you cry about Weiss at all. Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah. I just don't think Weiss would want me to cry about these things. She always hated seeing people sad after all. Especially her teammates."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that... It only feels like yesterday she was telling us to be proper in these sort of gatherings." Yang soon opened the closet to find black demons stand right before them. She watched as it's limbless body hung from a hanger, lifeless for all the world to see. In place of it's legs were loose fabrics that would feel comfortable for anyone wearing it's body. It's shoulders with the absence of it's arms was able to serve as a cover up for another's. And the worst part about it was that it was only tradition to wear it.

As Yang stand in discomfort, she could feel a burning sensation slip into her body through the empty air provided. Like poison it ate at the main source of her body. It burned like a wildfire in a forest, but it wasn't put out through tears. No, it's flames spread through her in search of more fuel to feed on. And as it did, the blonde closed her eyes tightly, concealing the fire from escaping while her hands tightened as her body became stiff.

The sudden look was enough to make the redhead curled around her deliver a small peck on her cheek, snapping her peacefully back to their world. The world without her present in their lives. With a melancholy stare into her pupils, the young female whispered, "It's gonna be okay... I know this hurts you too..."

"Ruby," Yang responded quietly with a deep sigh before grabbing their clothing and heading towards the bathroom. Just before she was about to enter without her lover, she turned once more to say the words that would make the young female worry for her beloved.

"You don't know the half of it."

* * *

The day passed as the clouds began to have a gathering above the land of Patch. In their presence, they found themselves cleansing the dry grassy surface with it's tears as the green substance was brought down by the colorless shoes provided on the attendants' feet. The sound of water parting from the comforter only to be slapped back on was given to the group of teens as they made their way up the grassy hill through a empty pathway beside trees.

Pyrrha led the pack in her black Sunday dress, concealing her thoughts inside her mind for no one to examine in sadness. Behind her stood Jaune and Ren in black suits while wearing color coordinated ties, carrying the caste of Weiss over their shoulders carefully. Near them was Nora comforting a forcefully calmed Ruby with a touch on her shoulders in front of Yang, who carried a shovel over her shoulder. There were no other guests at the funeral except for two.

One was Qrow, who stayed in his normal attire while holding the holy book in his armpit. Even though his face didn't show it, his young students could tell that he was falling into a pit of sorrow as well. Of course, he didn't know a lot about Weiss. But she put a lot of her fate in herself to sacrifice her time of living for the time of Pyrrha's and Yang's. Not to mention his daughter as well. And that alone made him want to at least attend her waking. And to help comfort a certain someone outside of her love life.

That someone being Winter. Throughout the entire time she appeared on the nice pot of land, her eyes restrained from flooding blood, but waterfalls. She sealed such a sickening detail into the veins of her orbs as she moved her shaking feet to the place where her sister would be put to sleep forever.

The more she created a river, the more she wished that this was all a dream. That her sister would come back into her arms. Beg for a bedtime story like she used to. Ask for her guidance. Do anything whether it was annoying or not... But she knew. They all knew that she was up beyond the sky. And that she was never coming back...

The group of friends and family made their way upwards until they were met with the sight of another gravestone. The one that kept Ruby's mother safe underneath Remnant. The mere sight nearly stung the redhead for a second or two. Until she couldn't help but bury her face into her orange haired friend's shoulder. With this, Nora could feel the young female's body shake on her furiously like a engine to a car, causing a sick feeling in her stomach.

"A-Are you sure," The silver eyed girl questioned with a stutter while exchanging looks with Weiss' sister and lover. "That this is a good place for her to rest?! S-Shouldn't it be... Shouldn't it be..." Before she could finish, the white haired woman before her answered quietly with a soft nod.

"Yes. For starters, we can't let her be buried on the grounds of Atlas since my father won't even look at her. Let alone my mother won't face the facts that she's... S-She'll only kick her out to ease up the pain. Also, we all know that you and Weiss had such a powerful bond that not even me nor Pyrrha could begin to comprehend. This is for the better. And we know she would want this..."

Even though it was still hard to take in, Ruby was able to come to terms with the reasons as to why this was done. All she could do at this point was wait with her friends and father for the two young men to set the fallen Schnee's coffin down softly near Ruby's mother's. Afterwards, the boys accompanied the group again to take one good long look at what was unfolded before them under the hood.

There it was. Myrtenaster. Laying on the Egyptian silk in the casket with a owner to keep it warm. It's blade was polished from the blood and ashes that previously bathed it. It's ammo was still inside the handle perfectly, but nothing was perfect about the outside of the handle. No matter what the people of Atlas and Ironwood did, nothing would paint over the scratch marks of it. And just like the metal piece, their hearts were scared in realization of what happened. It was with that, that they couldn't take it anymore.

Winter immediately covered her face with her gloved hands to make a dam over her waterfall as Qrow rubbed her back gently. Sobs from the white haired female filled the air over the patters of the raindrops overhead. But not for long when the goldilocks blurted out through the depressed teens around her coldly, "We should say our piece before we bury her..." Without second thoughts or concerns, Team JNPR nodded determinedly before gathering around the weapon in a circular manner.

The blonde female started it off by grabbing hold of the red haired female's and the white haired woman's hand. Next was the redhead, then her father, the orange haired teen, the black haired boy and finally the blonde haired male who closed the connection between them. As their hands were enclosed together and their heads met with the stylized weapon, silence lurked between them once again...

...

They took it all in. Until Ruby began to cry suddenly to the others. All eyes were on her for a moment before they became instantly glue when her whines broke in. Both Qrow and Yang wanted to give her love and support in this time of need. But instead of doing so, the young teenager simply sniffed a couple of times then blurted out in a shaky voice,

"I-I can't take it anymore! I miss her so much! I miss when she would call me a dolt! O-Or when she would reward me cookies every time I passed a test! Or when she would get mad at me for not doing something in a right manner! And I-I really w-wish when she would c-congratulate me for being such a good teammate, partner, leader and best friend! I want her back! I want Weiss back!"

"Ruby," Yang whispered in shock with a mixture of melancholy. Just with the way she delivered those words, her heart began to boil inside of her like a never ending fire. But her mind kept wondering into the dept of darkness like a never ending nightmare. She desperately wanted to hold her girlfriend tightly for a eternity of comfort, at least until she calms down. But she was beaten to the punch.

"Come here, kiddo," The red eyed man murmured softly, grabbing hold of his child as she began to cry forever in his chest. Unlike Nora, it was the shaking of her body that spooked him. But rather the tears that soaked into his shirt that scared him a little. At least enough to the point where he couldn't help but bit his lower lip in a angrily fashion while his grip on his daughter tightened effortlessly. "It's okay. Let it all out, it's okay..."

"I-..." Winter stopped mid sentence to wipe her tears with her sleeveless arms. Not long after though, she finished with stutters stuck in words. "I know how you feel... I-I miss her too. I just want t-to hold her in my. Arms again. A-And tell her that... That everything will be o-okay!" Words became caught in a web that was built in the white haired woman's throat. It was enough to make her turn away from the teens and the man to become devoured by her creation in her eyes.

After a moment of heredity, Nora couldn't help but continue the praise and wishes by commenting in a sad tone. "I don't know a lot about Weiss. But I knew enough to say that she was a good friend. A best friend. I remember when I had to do homework and I left it in the class. And she told me to rewrite it but I didn't listen. So I sneaked into Mr. Port's class to get it, only to get in trouble. But luckily she was there to play along and say it was her sending me to get her homework. Heh. She had detention that day because of me. She was upset, but she let me be... It went to show that Ren wasn't the only one. That... I-I could depend on..."

The same disease that hit Winter suddenly hit Nora like the lighting that slammed down the trees beside her over the hill. She found herself being held by Ren in his slender arms as she heard him shush her through the sound of thunder that covered her sobs harshly. "I agree with her," He admitted. "Weiss was a very good ally and friend. Not to mention she was a great study friend as well." The statement made the black haired young boy break out a despondent grin while his cotton candy pink eyes stared at the grassy floor below him.

The next to talk, with a ruffle of his hands through his hair in a nervous state, was Jaune. "Weiss Schnee. She was everything in a girl. Smart, devoted, talented, and sometimes sweet. I always loved her more then a friend before Pyrrha pursued her. I remember as if it was yesterday. We would fight each other to get her attention without us even knowing. And she won a girlfriend. I wanted to be sad but it didn't matter, because I won too. I won a good friend. I might've lost her in that battle, but I will never forget the memories we had. Rest peacefully, Weiss."

After a single raindrop escaped from the teen's eyes and the Schnee beside him sobbed harder, everyone stayed silent again. Eyes shifted from one person to another til they were glued to a certain someone. With emerald eyes shifting to different colors, the owner sighed heavily before her lips opened a gap lightly to let out a harsh sigh. With a couple more deep breaths, Pyrrha finally began to talk in a depressed state.

"Um... I don't know what to say without breaking down into tears... Weiss was my life. I used to try and live without her by focusing on my destiny and dreams. But instead, I just kept following her like I was a leech to blood. It scared me because I thought she would push me back like Jaune and every boy I've ever met. But instead, she listened to me. She stood near my side throughout her time at Beacon. At Vale. And in my dark times, she tried so hard to make me smile. Whether it was with ice cream dates or peaceful sleeps in her room some nights. She was strong. And she would want me to be strong. But Everyday I keep saying I wish I loved her more. I wish I spent more time with her... But all I can do now is live for her and that's what I'm going to do... I-... I'll miss you... And I'll always love you. Weiss..."

The red haired female tried so hard to contain herself. But just like a firework, she exploded into tears before being comforted by her lover's sister and best friends. They all held her tight like a girl holding her teddy bear to sleep. And all they heard was hard sobs and painful cries into the sky. And it could've continued on for a little longer if Qrow didn't interrupt by asking them all to hold their hands in prayer.

They all did so in reticence til they separated after the word amen like a magic trick. Hugs were exchanged between them along with goodbyes to the Schnee sister that left in a sent bullshead. After a few minutes, the area was empty from any life source except for one. That one stayed standing before the weapon that was closed up once again. Her girlfriend asked before she left with the others if she was okay, only to be given no reply but a sign to leave. And with that, Yang was alone again. With only a shovel to accompany her.

Metal slashed the soil without trouble as it dug a deep and wide hole into the ground. The controller of the object let it continue this process endlessly until she felt her hands gain splinters and see that the hold was deep enough to lay the weapon into it. The silver object was placed softly into the hole before being covered in the mud dug out.

Afterwards, she sat on the grass. She let the rain pat her head infinitely. She stayed lonely at the now done funeral. And in the absence of everyone, the blonde told herself that Weiss wasn't coming back. That Weiss was gone. That there was no way to overcome this. And with that in mind, Yang's tears became raindrops in the furious storm.

 _The storm she called life..._


	19. Friendships and Relationships

Lilac orbs met with a platform covered in nothing but pure black with ant size splatters of white scattered freely. As they saw this sudden sight, they quickly began to examine the work of 'art' as if it was a puzzle. Or as if something was off about all of this.

Before the owner of these eyes could question anything, blurs of orange and red began to surface suddenly without hesitation. They flowed around the painting as if it was water loosely exploring it's canvas It served as a beautiful sight of sorts for a while... Until, just like lava on surface, it started to burn the owner's eyesight like the sun in the afternoon, resting on the horizon.

In a matter of seconds, the female rose up as if she was brought back to life to find venom slowly drowning out of her pupils. As it did, her eyes met with the grave of the two fallen warriors she tried hard to forget about. Even if she ran her palms over the deadly feeling, she could still see the two humans staring her down like a culprit to a crime. One told her thus kindly she shattered. And the other didn't bother to speak to her.

The eery silence had transferred the pain given to the girl's eyes into her heart. The fire deep beneath her stomach began to burn out as water started to flood her temple. A rock was thrown into her mouth as punishment. And so was chains that weren't see by the naked eye as they chained her there to endure it all.

Tears didn't fall. Nothing fell because she was already out of tears. Her feelings were crippled. Her arms and legs were out of order. And her body ceased to function. All she could do was let her body stay sat up to find the horrible reality that awaited her no matter what she did...

She wanted to stay strong for her girlfriend. For her friends and family. But nothing worked. Not even happy thoughts. She pondered the realization that she was the emotionless one at the funeral. That she was the one who wasn't able to comfort her love. Not to mention she couldn't even comfort the fallen warrior's sister. What kind of crap was that, she thought.

What would she say if she was here now, the blonde haired female questioned in hidden rage. Would she beat her up to a bloody pulp? Would she haunt her for the rest of her life? Why did she see her as one of her precious friends when she can't even care for her best friend, girlfriend or sibling?

It only went to show, in her eyes, that she was the worse friend a person could have. She was the emotionless guest to the funeral...

But she wasn't worse then one person.

As quick as she could count to three, the female could hear footsteps approach her from behind. In a hurried guess as to who it was, she blurted out with a deep sigh in slight annoyance, "Ruby. I-... I think I'm gonna stay out here for longer. Don't worry about me okay? Just go back home and go to sleep. You need to forget about this... And so do I... So please. Just. Leave me alone..."

"Can't. Because I'm not Ruby," Another kind of deep female voice blurted out suddenly to the other's surprise. It shocked her so bad that she sat up swiftly to find who had confront at such a time like this. Before she knew it, her dark orbs had found something that shook her harder then a hurricane.

The presence was enough to make the fire become lit enough to be considered a wild fire. Eyes showed pure rage along with incredulity. Hands gripped so hard that if she wanted she could draw blood again. And shivers went down her back as if a demon had placed a curse on her. And who exactly could cause this to happen to her?

No one.

Except for Blake Belladonna.

And in something that would either make or break her at a proper funeral. She wore a long white coat and a black crop top. The crop top exposed her midriff and had rectangular and diamond shaped holes surrounding her neck. Across her torso was a diagonal strap that contained a smaller magnetic clip used to sheathe her trusted weapon, Gambol Shroud.

Additionally, she wore a white belt and pouch over dark, tight stretchy pants. She wore thigh-high black heeled boots with gold-colored edging around the top. The left boot had a pair of belted straps tightly wrapped around the thigh. And each boot bear her belladonna emblem in white on the outer side of the thigh.

In the flesh, Blake wasted no time to start the conversation blurting out quietly and sadly, "I know you're mad at me, Yang, but let me talk-."

"What the fuck do you want, bitch," Yang asked, her eyesight slowly drowning in red from just her voice.

"I... I just wanted to pay my respects to Weiss."

"Where the fuck was this when she died on top of that tower," The blonde questioned as she strolled towards the black haired female as if she was prey. When she met with her, she continued with a hint of venom, "Where was this when you left Beacon?"

"Where was this when Ruby leg was cut off, right?"

"Heh... I already came to terms that that was my fault. And I'm fixing that up at the moment. But where the fuck were you? Huh?!" Yang stared her down like a parent that just found out about what their child had done. Her feet didn't stand still as they helped the blonde female walk circles around the scary cat in front of her. As for the faunus, she stood still in a hint of panic and concern.

In the mist of all the silence, Blake couldn't help but ask as her golden eyes followed her 'friend's, "What happened to your eyes?"

"What kind of question is that," the goldilocks responded with a snicker escaping her lips. "It's probably red due to all the anger built in me. What? Is your night vision not working or something?"

"That's not what mean-."

"Get to the damn point before I beat you back to where you came!" The outburst displayed in front of the black haired teen made her jump a little. But not enough to make her want to escape the scene. She simply stayed put as if she was a statue, staring into the other's eyes as deep as she could. And what she found wasn't anger. It wasn't sadness.

It was pure rage.

Rage that burned straight through Blake's eyes and into her brain. It scared her worse then the man that should not be named. She wanted to save herself. She left to save herself. But when she comes back to this, she knew that real one who needed help wasn't her. But her partner. She was becoming possessed by the aggravation that could kill a person. This stress would kill her, she could tell. But as for what could help her in this time of need was unknown.

... All the faunus could do was do what came to. She went to the grave of her fallen ally. As she looked at the buried weapon through the grass, she found her legs giving up and setting her gently on her knees. In that state, she bowed her head in silence to pay her respects. Nothing was heard but the soft wind that blew through her ears, her breathing, and Yang's. She took her time until she got back to her feet.

When she did, she wasn't met with the hush she wanted. Nor a scolding. All she was met with as she turned to her partner were words filled with hatred, "You've done what you wanted. Now get the hell out of here and never come back." Due to this, the black haired female stared at the ground once more in a mixture of disappointment and thought. Luckily, the blonde didn't have to question it when she responded calmly,

"I know I shouldn't ask... But how's Ruby holding up?"

"... She's trying hard to move on," The goldilocks admitted. "But I don't if it will help or not... I just hope she goes back to the old Ruby w-.. I know and love..."

"Okay... How about her leg?"

"She can walk pretty good now. But her running needs some work. But me and Pyrrha got her." The serenity came back for one more second while Blake scratched her head before asking in hesitation,

"And Pyrrha-."

"She's like a jigsaw compared to Ruby who's a puzzle," Yang answered. "I don't know how she's holding up. But I hope she gets well soon... It was hard on her and Winter..."

"Winter was here?"

"Yeah. Cried more then any of us... What have you been doing while we were separated? I need to know what's so special that you would leave us in the dust..."

"... When I left you guys, I went straight back home. Menagerie to be exact." The mention of the name didn't make her partner surprised, but it did make her raise a eyebrow at the choice she had in mind.

"Menagerie? Why there?"

"To think things out. And get everything off my mind... But from what you see now, it didn't help. I still came back. Empty handed, saddened by my actions and choices, lost... And haunted as my family teams up with the enemy."

"Team up with the enemy," The blonde haired female questioned, now shocked about what she had said. "What do you mean help the enemy?"

"If you didn't know, my father used to be the leader of the White Fang until he stepped down and gave to someone else," Blake explained.

"Adam?"

"No, he wished," The faunus told her, giving her partner a relief feeling before continuing. "It's another person who seems to want to do something sinister with another group of people. I don't know what he wants, but all I know is that this could potentially start another war. A war of faunus and humans... I try to tell my dad about this, but I need eye witnesses. I need proof... That's why I'm here... I need your help, Yang."

A frown became instantly apparent on Yang's face after hearing the information before turning away from the other in suasion. As she did so, Blake couldn't help but continue in desperation, "I know I was supposed to only come here and pay respects, but I also came to ask for your help. If we don't stop this, things would probably fall badly. Things would end up worse then you think. All I ask is that you help is it. And if you could for a couple of weeks, then you'll never see my face again. I promise..."

...

"... I'm sorry... I don't help cowards."

This was the answer that Blake was given on her offer to Menagerie. To stop this so called war. And with that answer, the blonde wasn't given a sword to the back. Nor a stab. But she was given the one thing that her partner was good at.

Leaving.

Due to her absence, the teen sighed heavily before going back to her state. She sat down in front of the graves then laid down to find the dark sky again. It was funny, she thought. When she was a little girl, her and Ruby would agree that the painting above them was such a work of art. Looking back on it? And seeing it now? Just like her life, it was empty. Nothing but black with white spots. Like a evil ladybug. Nothing could change that. And she knew perfectly well...

 _Because some things can't be changed..._

 **Alright, sorry guys. There's Blake, again sorry about that. Also, I had to give out a chapter today? Why? Because it's the anniversary of ISLY! I just want to give you guys a gift for the anniversary and for you guys helping me so much to get here. You guys are so awesome for supporting me along the way of this. So I really appreciate this so much. Thank you... Anyways, I will continue this from now on after this on Sundays. So be on the look out for that. And until next time, have a good day! :)**


	20. Lone Wolf

(It was the end of the so called war by many students in the kingdom of Vale. Cheers and celebrations weren't audible nor were fireworks and or flashing lights present in the denim sky. Only the irreparably full moon that turned the air of sea above a cobalt color that hit the surface of Beacon Academy. It's walls were bathed in the shade of blue along with the red tree that was barely touched by it's beauty, The grassy floor beside the lid up concrete path copied it's big siblings but their friend didn't.

Instead, isolated from the victims of this planet that stepped on their bodies, they watched as just one student traveled effortless. The student was a female whose hair flew brightly in the wind, blocking out the dull colors beside her like a beacon of light. It accompanied her movement of dominance for a while before she was brought to an abrupt stop in front of her home's statue, proudly standing in front of her lilac eyes.

There it stood a huntress holding her axe like weapon in battle and a huntsmen lifting up his sword in what could be a battle cry. Underneath them was a beowulf, either being crushed by the rock wall above it or hiding from the people who's blood polished their blades. It was always seen by the school as a act of heroes protecting their kingdom. She would know, her sister kind of loved it to a degree. And she also had a liking of it as well... But not tonight. Instead of seeing hope, she saw fear and rage. It wasn't in the statue though. It was in a beast that she thought was rid of her.

A beast who took the figure of a female wore a shallow cut black dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, a pair of matching gauntlets and solid black gloves. An object that looked to be made from feathers hung from the right side of her skirt. She also wore detached black leggings with a red splatter pattern, and black leather boots beneath them. And what really caught the student's eye was the fearsome, full-face mask that resembled a Creature of Grimm concealing the woman's face that had four eye slits, making her come off as a inhuman person. If she was aiming for such a look, she nailed it in the blonde female's eyes.

Her partly innocent eyes were able to scan accurately to find a pair of demonic blood red ones underneath the mask. They were drowning in a pool of fear that shook the student's body and soul. But not hard enough to scare her away due to her next actions. With her orbs shaking in horror but her lips curling into a frown of cautiousness, the blonde haired teenager asked quietly, "Who are you?"

Instead of getting an answer out of her, the woman slide off her mask to reveal exactly who she was. What the girl found was what caused her to be slapped in realization. She found the same eyes from before but a face that looked all too familiar. One that she only thought of in dreams and fantasies. This along with the hair style she inherited tugged at the female's heartstrings as if she was a puppet. This person wasn't a beast. Nor was she just a woman. She definitely knew this when she finally spoke gently to her.

"Yang... We have a lot to talk about..."

It was her mother.)

Yang opened her eyes suddenly to a Columbia blue sky that faded from Carolina to baby blue. The soft shades of color blending together made the blonde haired female sit up to find the same place she was before. A land of nothing but trees and grass living peacefully below the sea above like it's inhabitants. Sounds of chirping birds echoed through the wind all the while the goldilocks basks in this as she shift her vision left and right.

She knew from doing this that she was back to reality, away from the horrific memories and thoughts that tried to cloud her mind. But what she didn't know was that someone was laying right next to her silently. The sight of blood red, exactly like her eyes, shocked Yang for a moment before she really saw who it was.

Laying with her was none other then Ru by Rose, stuck in tranquility along with slumber. Her mouth was lightly a gap for little snores to escape, but not a waterfall created by her saliva. She seemed to have been in her normal attire instead of her pajamas. It caused the goldilocks to wonder if she had slept next to her the whole night. If so, then that was... Weird, she guessed. But also romantic since she was able to wake up to her beloved's adorable face.

In her presence, Yang couldn't help but pet the young one's head lightly in the sweet and innocent scene. A sweet and innocent scene that soon took a toll for the worse. Without even thinking about it first, the blonde haired teen's eyes shifted to the redhead's lower body to find the one thing that still worried her to this day. The one thing that tried to play hide and seek with her under a boot.

Ruby's robotic leg.

The sight of the piece of metal brought back many horrible memories into her head. She saw the flames consuming the area around Beacon's main hall. The air that challenged to steal the breath of the young teenager's body. The blade that was now coated in her substance. The feeling of being futile to the one she loved the most.

This would've made tears fall from her eyes. It would've at least make her orbs begin to create her own waterfall. But the shuffle next to her of fabric snapped her back into the moment now, catching her attention as if it was nothing but thin air. She watched as her love sat up to wipe her eyes sparsely enough to find her first clear image. A smirking Yang with her hand still touching her head, exploring her hair with her firm fingers.

Under her touch, Ruby blurted out tiredly and softly with a weak smile, "Morning..."

"Good morning, sweety," Yang responded lovely, trying to hold in a chuckle from the use of her pet name. "You sleep well?"

"Yeah," The redhead answered with a yawn. "Sorry for intruding or whatever. I just got worried about you when you never came back home."

"Oh, sorry about that... I just... Got too deep into the view from up here is all. So deep that I fell to sleep. I didn't mean to worry you."

"It's okay since you're okay," With that being said, the young female laid her head lightly onto her girlfriend's shoulder, showering in the smell of sunflowers and honey. Her touch made the older female suddenly feel relaxed. It made her almost forget what she was thinking and what was going on. It was as if everything became brighter and more colorful with only little to no words and her beloved's face resting on her.

They sat there. Surrounded by nothing but grass, trees, and each other. As the wind began to blow once more, the blonde haired female called out calmly to the redhead without taking her eyes off the beautiful landscape before them. "Ruby..."

"Yes, Yang," The young one responded, lifting her head up to throw her girlfriend back into the cold dark world.

"I... I had a dream about her again..."

"I don't know what to say... Just, don't let it eat you up right now, okay? Um... Think about something else worth your time. Something nice and fun. Something that would never leave you..."

"So you..." Suddenly, with that remark, the two teens turned to one another in unison to become lost in each other's eyes. They stayed like this, in silence, taking in the wonderful colors that caught their attention ever since they were kids.

"Is..." In a moment, before words could continued to be exchanged from expressions of worry and amatory, lips pressed together lovingly. While in this state, Yang slid her hand through reddish blackish locks to push Ruby's head towards her's to heat the kiss up. Soon enough, their bodies laid down for their lips to explore the caves of their mouths. Moans became apparent with every movement of the older female's hand sliding downwards on the younger's body. This was exceptional since they would do this almost every day. But it turned into something new when their lips parted furiously for the goldilocks to leech on the skin of her love's neck.

"S-Stop. Wait, Yang," Ruby begged through groans for Yang to raise up in recognition and jump off of her.

"I'm sorry," The blonde haired female stuttered in between breaths. Luckily for her, her girlfriend shook her head slowly to reply,

"You don't have to apologize. It's just... I don't want to make out near Weiss' and mom's grave. It's kind of. Disrespectful?"

"Oh... Oh yeah! Heh heh, sorry."

"Again, you don't have to be," The redhead responded while standing up and helping the blonde haired teenager do so as well. "We should get back home anyway. Pyrrha wants us to train right away."

"Alright. Say, weren't you going to say something earlier?"

"Huh?... Oh nope. I just thought I saw something. Let's go." With that, and with her throwing her love into a wave of confusion, Ruby and Yang headed back home. As they did, the older female still couldn't help but think about the dream she had earlier. She couldn't help but wonder, why did she feel this way? Why did she feel like crying? And most importantly,

Where was her mom anyway?

...

...

"Our children have grown quite strong, have they not? One has the silver eyes. And the other the maiden's powers. I'm alright with the small one. But the big one is who I have my concerns for. I hope she doesn't go through what the others went through. But if she has no choice but to? Then may god have mercy on that child.

 _Because she doesn't know what she's messing with..."_


	21. Last (AN)

**My new story, Our last night. Will probably be my last RWBY fanfic. It probably won't. Right now, I don't know at the moment. Why though? Because I've been going through things. I've been trying to continue these fanfics that I don't want to do, or fanfics that I probably thought of as if I was high or something.**

 **I mean, for starters, I would love to continue Frozen Rose and I Still Love You, but I don't know. It feels rather empty when I do them, because no one is there. Emotionally and mentally, I'm not there. So, I'm sorry about that. I would put it up for adoption, but I feel like someone might screw it up, I'm not pointing fingers, though. It's just a possibility I have lately. So, yeah, FR and ISLY might not see the light of day. A remake or revamp? Maybe. But I don't know.**

 **And I also have a thing for doing crack ships that make no sense at all. Mainly because they work. I'm still doing that now, as you can see with Redwood and this fanfic here. But no one reads it and I can't find myself loving them. I still go though, because even though these fanfics keep bombing, I will continue to find that one masterpiece that would stay in my heart like FR and/or ISLY and continue on with it for as long as I want. Hopefully it's this one, or another one, or another one. Until that day comes, I'll be waiting.**

 **With that being said, Our last Night was a fanfic I came up with if this WAS my last RWBY fanfic. Just about a little crack ship I've grown to love. I hope you all enjoy that if you can read it by any chance. And if you have some time or your hands or something, feel free to check out Redwood and/or Butchered Rose. But enough, advertising and all this sad shit, please enjoy these stories of mine and until the next time I do something or we meet again, always have a good day! :)**


	22. Six Months Later

The plain blue canvas above Remnant watched as rubber strolled casually through crystal clear wet sand as it crushed the already scattered particles into them unintentionally. It's friend, the sun, shined brightly like a beacon on it's owner gracefully, finding them approaching a huge body of water at the end of the sandy body. Due to the new substance shown to the solid black boots in front of them, they instantly stopped before being tainted by the liquid. Eventually, a pair of clear white leather shoes accompanied them to stare upon the body of water before them for company.

All the material found was nothing but a endless sea that merged with the bright sky above like shades of paint that collided ever so easily. The water seemed to have taken a lot of characteristics from the dry substance before it, giving off a reflection of it's flying friend and the area around them. This caused the owners to find a mirrored world similar to that of this place. They found countless mountains running down it's side in both the beautiful fantasy and equivalent reality, having a ratio of half bathed in grass and the other showered in snow. Aside from this, the beach like area was rather empty of life, which served as a surprise to the owners.

Who were the ones who possessed the shoes to be exact? Well, the one who owned black boots was none other then a slightly short yet long black haired female, who's hair grew red at it's cut tips. She possessed silver shaded orbs that were similar to that of cents and had a somewhat slender light complex body that helped with her young features.

The young teen was wearing a white high-neck décolletage blouse with a black and red skirt that's had a overbust corset around her waist. A black belt bordered in red held magnetic clips possibly for a weapon, along with ammunition. The teenager also had brown straps on her blouse that allowed her to wear a small brown backpack. In lieu of her full black stockings, the black haired female wore thigh-high stockings reaching to a few inches below the hem of her skirt, decorated by an image of a long-stemmed rose. Her red-soled black boots contained four straps and buckles apiece, and her cloak had a singular clip on the right shoulder in the shape of her emblem, which was a sliver rose.

Unlike the black haired female beside her, the other owner of the white tennis shoes had a more. Casual approach. The owner was a blonde haired female who possessed a fine complexion and strange plum purple shade. As for her attire, she wore something more fitted for a older teenage girl such as herself.

She wore a gray brown jacket over an orange tank top that hid under the zipped up layer. The jacket's left sleeve bared her girlfriend's emblem and completing her attire were cargo pants of the same shade as her jacket, which showed the rim of her dark undergarments. High on the left leg of her pants was a red shield-shaped patch with imagery of three Ursa masks, and lastly, her emblem was stitched on her right thigh. With the two now in their glory, who exactly were these wondering females? None other then the last two ongoing teammates of Team R_BY,

Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long.

With the presence of the teens, the sea watched as the black haired female's glance shifted to her lover, who then grunted angrily while squatting to drown her hands in the substance's everything. "No one's here. Are we late or something?"

"I don't know," The younger girl responded softly to meet her love on the soft ground. "I think we probably came early. I mean, this usually happens when it comes to them. Remember when we practiced in that snow field."

"That was the worst," The blonde responded through a weak chuckle. Not long after, her plum eyes found themselves shifting to a pair of silver ones suddenly. In the glance of the eyes the teenager adored, her own began to grow wide instantly, unlike the younger ones, that simply started to accompany a raised eyebrow.

Through her new found expression plastered on her face, Ruby broke the new found silence by asking in concern, "Uh, are you okay? You've been looking at me like that every since we got here."

Instead of being given a answer, she was delivered a feeling. The feeling of the older teen placing her left hand ever so gracefully on her cheek gradually, sending a weird sensation into her face like magic. Due to this, her face became bathed in a dark shade of blood red underneath her skin, serving to not surprise the blonde, but beg her to explore it more. And with it's begging and moaning for her touch, her grasp eventually moved slowly up to her solid messy, yet balmy raven black hair.

This sudden activity caused the black haired teen's mind to race with multiple questions filled of building fear. Was she going to kiss her, she thought instantly. Was she going to make out with her? Or deeper then that? Was she going to, what her dad called it, "Rock the boat"? Luckily for the now worried female, her questions would be answered in a matter of seconds.

With the touch of her hair through a rough set of pats and caressing, Yang whispered seductively in a sexy whisper, while owning thirsty eyes that stared at her friend's body like prey. "Ruby..."

"Y-Yes, Yang?"

"Why... Why is your hair so black?!" With those words, Ruby's eyesight was immediately thrown into the darkness of her girlfriend's breasts. Through the sudden grasp on her head, the younger teenager began to squeal in bewilderment for freedom of her human made prison. But instead of being granted such a wish, she heard Yang continue playfully, "Why must you taint your beautiful hair with it's natural color?"

"Pie to chu hay my nacurel heir," Ruby exclaimed more the questioned through covered flesh, only for her girlfriend to respond through fake cries,

"Because I loved your dyed hair! It was so cool! Oh, I loved it so much! But your father had to go and take it out."

"Acchully," The black haired female replied before releasing herself from the older teen's grasp to meet with her mournful looking face. With the reunion of her and the real world, she informed her through pants, "I told him I wanted to have my natural hair color again, so we went to someone he knew that could fix the mess you made!"

Yang presently couldn't help but bite her lip from what her love had reminded her. The day her hair was first red. She could remember it like it was the other day. That day was the best in her eyes, filled with red dye gel bathing their room in a red shade. Along with cries of fear, laughs of excitement and screams of terror by their parents. It was a rather fun day, if the blonde could recall, but also the day that conceived the longest grounding sentence she ever had. Which was two weeks. Well, luckily, the younger female's 'father' was a fan of it. She guessed it was the only great thing to come out of the man.

"It still sucks though," Yang responded with a pout.

"And here I thought you were the more mature one," Ruby playfully responded, creating a set of laughs to escape from the lips she kissed passionately all day, all night. Whether they were early or late. Or just at the wrong location, at least the two teens had this moment together... It was awfully horrible they couldn't share nice laughter together these days. At least, not all the time like they used to. Especially after... Still though, it was like a gift for them to have these hours of traveling together to have one another...

Even if it was ruined by the sudden shot of a bullet passing through the blonde's hair.

With this foray action, the two teenagers wasted no time to stand up in search for the culprit to this almost crime. They expected to find their daily enemies or new ones waiting to drain their blood into their thirsty weapons. But instead, through their line of sight, from a far, they were met with a familiar person coming their way. Familiar figures that now had them on their hit list.

These people were none other then a male and a female dashing towards them through the harmless sand, breaking it apart even more. The male with the female was a teenager, not much taller then Yang, who possessed long black hair with a pink highlight and dark cotton candy pink eyes, accompanying a light complexion. For his attire, he had on leaf green long, sleeveless tailcoat, with a black, sleeveless turtleneck with red, tasseled ropes over the hips. He also had on pants that got tighter below the knees, and calf-high open-toed sandals. From his middle finger to his biceps ran gradient pink-to-black detached sleeves ending in metal armbands.

As for the female, she was a teenager standing at Ruby's height with orange shaded short hair and light sky blue eyes. She had on hot pink gloves and wore a white top that had a heart cut-out on the top, near her chest, that had a diagonal cut through it. She also wore a shorter, detached white sleeve on her left arm. Over the shirt, she wore a zippered blue-black bomber jacket with a damaged print of her emblem visible on the back and pink stripes along the sleeves. The pink bands of the jacket tightened on her upper arms. Her long skirt came with some flair and two wide belt loops at the waist for her matching belt. Finally, she wore knee-high pink socks just visible above her calf-length boots, which were white with pink laces.

In their new found presence, Yang, without hesitation, pulled out her gauntlets before commanding Ruby to split up and run towards their new opponents. With this, the sudden battle finally began between the 'friends' before the guests.

The first attack to be delivered was a set of flying bullets from the blonde's weapon concealing her bare wrist, making them fly towards the two intruders, who easily dodged the incoming fires to miss slightly. The attack was then tied with a incoming punch aiming right into the orange haired female's face, that was blocked with her gun happily that switched into a hammer that knocked the blonde away without a sweat. Luckily, Yang was able to counter with the firing of her bullets once more, propelling her into the wet sand below and throwing the orange haired teen for a loop.

She was probably ceased from action for a moment, unlike her partner who wasted no time to counter a incoming attack from the sneaking Ruby, who clashed her scythe with the male's build in knuckle knives. This lead to the two beginning to throw themselves into a clash of blades that threw sparks and sand from the two , making them become cautious in their given match. Soon, the black haired man chose to use his surroundings as help with his enemy. How? Easy. By flipping from the black haired female's smash of her blade into the ground, digging his right hand dagger into the sand, and scraping it violently into her face.

This made the young female become blind for a moment as she tried to let the substance not escape in her eyes. Of course, this served as a mistake when the male eventually kicked the girl down. Only for her to worm herself back up and knock him down with a flip kick that had her walking on her hands playfully. Luckily, the male was able to instantly get back up and throw himself back in for an attack with his bullets throwing him into the teen's grasp. Due to this, and the sight of fear and regret in the girl's eyes, the older teenager threw her into the floor after blasting through a few feet of air.

Meanwhile, Yang found herself struggling with the opponent at hand, who smashed her hammer continuously into her fist as if she was trying to break down a door. The action between the two continued to sustain between the two until the orange haired female saw the blonde, with a grunt, trip her underneath her stance and right hook her into the water behind her enemy. Of course, due to the fact that the younger female was a animal in human flesh, she simply threw herself back up and slammed her body into the older teen, causing them to fall into the sand, bathing them in the icky feeling substance.

Underneath the young one's weight, the goldilocks tried her hardest to counterattack with the last amount of ammo in her gauntlets with a blast. Except, the orange haired female didn't hesitate to counter back with a hard hitting rocket launcher that sucked a huge amount of the blonde's aura, and propelling the other teen back to her feet with a laugh.

As Yang began to get up out of anger to pursue her opponent, Ruby found herself slamming her scythe like a bat into her enemy's weapon insanely. Only for him to grab her handle of the weapon as fast as he could, roll on his back with her on top of him, and push her off with his feet to the sand once more. This then gave the black haired male a chance to try and stab her down in her vulnerable state. But he should know that the former redhead was one who loved to improvise. So when he watched her roll like a dog on her sides, evading his incoming moves, he was hardly surprised, but rather annoyed at his lack of hurting her.

Fortunately, he was able to change his approach by launching himself into the air, leaving the former redhead to stop and stare at him in suspicion and curiosity with a tilted head. She soon watched as he started to place his daggers in front of him as if he was going to shoot her down. Yet he didn't. In his new state, the black haired female's confusion immediately shifted into horror as she began to waste no time to get back to her feet and run from the incoming attack. And as if she had predicted it, the black haired male, who now wore a confident smirk, dived into the sea of sand harshly to create a huge shock-wave underneath the female.

Due to this, Ruby felt as a wave of sand push her back, along with her body towards the sea's gentle body, frightening her in the process. Luckily, she wasn't able to reach the liquid substance in any way, to the relief of her and her girlfriend, who watched for a moment after kicking her enemy away. Everything was normal... That is, for a split second. Until the redhead was met with an attack that nearly knocked her socks off. No pun intended. An attack that ruined her whole status in this oh so important battle.

The black haired female was knocked down by the black haired male into the dept of the sea in front of her. And with this action,

Her leg began to malfunction, throwing her out into sea at full speed with a ear piercing scream.

"Ruby!" Not long after calling out to her beloved, Yang, now empowered by anger, and without looking, grabbed a incoming attack from other female's hammer. She then took it and slammed the big weaponry into the wet substance below, along with it's horrified owner, who lost a huge amount of aura due to the impact. But not enough to defeat her.

Instead, she was right about to meet her end eventually with the shared glance from a angry blonde. A angry blonde whose eyes were now changing like a chameleon into a fine shade of a flaming orange. A orange that would stay engulfed in her head forever. She expected for the female to let her anger out, to let loose on her and make her have a one way ticket to the nearest hospital... But instead. To her surprise, she was met with a heavy sigh before meeting plum purple eyes once more.

Only to be hit in her ears by a loud 'duck'. Then a piercing pain delivered from the crazy roaming Ruby into her back suddenly.

With this impact throwing her and her partner into a fury of much lost aura. the two teens were met with no defense and once more, the nasty tasting dust that entered their mouths and their clothes furiously. It was due to this and the control of the blonde, that Yang and Ruby stood victorious. The battle was finally over...

Or should they say spar?

"Impressive," A older sounding, yet somewhat high female voice called out from beside them, gaining their attention easily. When they turned, the found a familiar female who had crimson red hair in a ponytail and emerald green eyes. The female seemed to have wore a top consisting of two layers. The top layer was a light-brown, strapless top split divided vertically with some bronze patterns. It is quite stiff, maintaining its shape without support; this layer also has riveting or small, round embroidery on the sides, indicating heavy stitching. The bottom layer is a low bronze V-neck. She also wore an elastic, black, A-line miniskirt and brown opera-length gloves on both arms. She wore a red ankle-length drapery that wrapped around her skirt.

There was a small circular bronze plate by her right hip opposite two pouches with both connected to a belt. The plate bears her "shield and spear" emblem. She wore a bronze circlet headpiece that could be seen above her ear and under her bangs. A pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds hang from her circlet on thin chains. She also sported a large bronze gorget around her neck, and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm. Even when dressed in her school uniform, Pyrrha continued to wear her headpiece.

She had on elaborate bronze greaves that start below her mid-thigh, continuing downwards into her boots and a pair of cuisses that begin mid-thigh and end slightly above her knees. She also donned a bronze bracer on top of the sleeve on her left arm, which was able to connect and disconnect from her shield easily. Her high-heeled boots were brown with bronze trim, matching her skirt and sleeves, and reach up to mid-calf.

Also, there had been a messy blonde haired male with dark blue diamond eyes at her side, standing nearly at her height, but taller. Not to mention a little bit of chin hair that was hard to be acknowledged from afar. The male wore a white diamond-shaped chestplate cut off above his lower abdomen and white spaulders with rerebraces set under them.

Underneath the armor, he wore a black short-sleeved hoodie with detached reddish-orange sleeves and a dark brown image of the bunny rabbit Pumpkin Pete trimmed in white with cute black round eyes hidden underneath the chestplate. He also wore blue pants with a white patch on the left knee, as well as black sneakers with "left" and "right" written in black on the respective shoes' soles. He also had two belts crisscrossing his waist, both different shades of brown, with a pair of small pouches on them. The man wore brown wrist-length gloves with exposed fingertips and small metal plates over the back as well.

In all their glory, the red haired female continued critically to Yang, "You were able to defeat Nora and Ren all by yourself."

"More like slaughtered them, Pyrrha," The blonde haired male corrected, staring at the fallen warriors in a state of pain.

"Oh, don't worry about us," Nora soon responded happily to the male, before turning her gaze to the black haired female. "Good job on that stabbing attack, Ruby!"

"... But your anger almost came out," Pyrrha continued sternly, ruining the happy moment between the two lovers and their friend. "Not to mention your powers... What did I tell you about using them?"

"Oh... Oh! I'm so sorry, mom," Yang whined sarcastically. "You see, I remembered I have a gift. So I was like, hey, let me do the smart thing and, oh, I don't know. Use it?"

"There's no reason to get all sarcastic. Just remember that until you can gain control of that, at ease... Aside from those few complaints, good job."

"Yeah, you guys totally killed it out there," The orange haired female, through throwing herself up and helping Ren out, exclaimed in excitement. "We should fight again next time. When my power is over 8,000!"

"Or when we think of another tactic," The black haired male stated casually in his monotone voice.

"Sure," Yang's girlfriend agreed without hesitation before turning her gaze once more to Pyrrha. "And maybe you can give us a run for our money too with Jaune as your partner!"

"I'll think about it," The redhead threw a graceful smile as she told the younger teen softly. "That's is, if his sword is fixed already when the time comes."

"And when you're not banging Winter."

"Who said that?" The statement that served to shock the older female easily hid itself through the crowd of childish but awfully strong teenagers. She could've tried her hardest to hunt down the person who threw her such shade. She could've punished them all with push-ups or laps like Ruby's father suggested. But she didn't. Instead, she simply ordered/suggested with a heavy sigh, "Let's just get back to Yang and Ruby's home before it gets dark. Then we can talk about our progress and what still needs to be fixed."

"Sounds good to me!"

With that, the group of trainers made their way together away from the wet area to their friend's home back in the soft land of Patch. As they walked there, Ruby couldn't help but realize even though it felt so short, a lot of things had changed in these months. Whether it was in personality, features, or combat. Even Yang, who was hard to fix, had found herself developing in aspects she lacked before. Just with that fact and many more, the former redhead found herself worrying less and less of the future. And more about making the ones she loved proud everyday. Because, she was going to fulfill her promises delivered to the fallen no matter what. She was going to be a great huntsmen. She was going to be a great leader.

And everyone would be okay no matter what...

* * *

"... I'm coming for you, Yang. Ruby... And I will take everything from you... Even if it means the ones you love...

 _Including each other..."_


End file.
